Self-Determination
by SoTaWoB
Summary: Spartan B-312 has completed various missions and trained for many kinds of tasks in pursuit of objectives. Black-ops, piloting, analytics, CQC, sniping - the works. That's all well and dandy when your orders come from ONI or the UNSC. It's not so easy in a different world with no chain of command. What is the core motivation of a Spartan? Let's find out, through B-312 - Zeila.
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

Sand and wind were the least impressive of foes, but after days of fighting and countless injuries every step felt slowed due to their fury. Projectiles, radiation, explosions and shrapnel - heck, even falling from orbit - so many deadly occurrences as a consequence of this invasion... The two huge alien species that made up the back bone of the Covenant armies often utilised their extraordinary strength in close quarters too. A lesser being would have died from a single instance of any such hardship.

Not for Spartan III B-312, Zeilla, Noble Six... Probably the last of Noble team - her Spartan squad mates having given their all at the behest of command to see their mission completed.

Mission completed, Six assumed she would fall to the forces converging on the landing pad. Determined to make them work for it, the young super soldier held nothing back and spat in the face of fear. When her ammo was spent, she dared take on the Sangheli and their energy swords with a knife. Never did it cross her mind that the final enemy would miss both her heart and her lungs when it buried the two-pronged weapon in her chest. She simply reacted in accordance with her training, grabbing a mandible and thrusting her knife up through the roof of its mouth.

The silence that followed slowly faded to a whispering of wind and coarse sand.

Somehow the lone Spartan dragged herself to a bombed-out structure and found enough medical supplies to patch up her worst wounds. A long trek brought her to the last scrap of Humanity on the planet. A small hundred or so strong gathering of UNSC soldiers, special forces, the odd Spartan and even civilian volunteers.

As expected the enemy found them. Unexpectedly so did an allied vessel. Every willing and able body took up a rifle and held the line for the non-combatants to be evacuated, praying there was a chance their sacrifice would see the vessel safely home to Earth.

Reach was lost. The crown jewel of Human colonization, taken by the Covenant. The most important and secret center of Human scientific research. The home of the Spartan program.

Even though it was her home, even though she was able to aim and shoot, the ranking officer ordered Zeilla out as a non-com'. Spartans were too precious to lose if they could be saved.

Once the Pelican docked in orbit everyone thought they were safe. For a while they were correct. Strange things started happening in Slip-space. Terror spread quickly so Zeilla forced her way out of medical care and checked out the viewports herself. There was definitely something wrong but she didn't get a chance to figure it out. Suddenly the vessel shook and the viewport imploded from an impact, only to explode out into the vacuum with anything not bolted down.

Chairs, data-slates, loose paneling... A wounded Spartan... It all tumbled about in the middle of the corridor between Reach and some unimportant system far from Covenant or Human colonies.

So… why could Spartan B-312 see an idyllic garden world when she looked away from a bright star?

Careful study of the surrounding star-scape matched with the information only a few were trusted enough to memorize. There was no doubt in her mind that the planet above her... No, below, the garden she was gradually being pulled to... Unmistakably Earth, the best kept secret location Humanity had. At its side was its sole moon, the place of her birth.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any Covenant vessels around... But nor were there any UNSC signatures according to her HUD.

That was wrong. Surely her gear would have picked up the many defensive satellite platforms and countless military scanning pings, even though there was little space to pack communication equipment in to a seven-foot suit of MJOLNIR armour with six foot nine inches of Spartan inside it. In fact, she couldn't see anything in orbit or any of the settlements on Luna either.

 _What the hell?_

* * *

Locking her armour just before impact certainly saved Zeilla's life but it still punched her lights out. When she finally came to the armour was barely functioning within acceptable margins, the micro reactor was approaching critical and her body felt crushed. However, Spartans were not trained to sit around bitching. Zeilla unlocked her armour and hauled herself out of the small crater.

A quick survey revealed she had punched through a building before landing in the adjacent parking lot. An old building going by the kind of materials used, yet it appeared well kept and not at all ancient.

 _Where on Earth am I?_

"Look mommy! A space robot!"

 _Eh?_

"Now now, none of that sci-fi is real son- oh my..."

B312 located the voices quickly, before her HUD could finish translating in fact, hand snatching for a weapon. There was a Human woman and a child staring at her from a doorway.

She raised her free hand slowly and took a step forward only to feel pain lance up her thigh, causing a reflexive inhale that shook her cracked ribs. Zeilla howled and clenched her fists against the pain, momentarily forgetting the weapon she had pulled from her belt.

As a distorted growl echoed in the night a bright two-pronged energy sword lit up the many scars upon her armour.

The child and mother fled.

Muttering in frustration the Spartan relaxed her grip and limped in the opposite direction. She had spotted an alleyway earlier that might be good to shelter in for a time. After some rest, she could begin exploring the urban area.

* * *

Noble Six woke to the sound of terrified cries and angry interrogatives accompanying wet thuds. Well, Noble team didn't exist anymore so perhaps she was back to being a Lone Wolf. There was also an urgent alarm pulsing in her ear and a red light blinking on her HUD... And she was sweating profusely from heat even with the cooling unit running hard.

 _Crap! The reactor! I shouldn't have stayed so long in a confined space._

Diagnostics reported that some of the fuel rod mechanisms had been damaged. To survive the atmospheric re-entry and 'landing' all had been engaged, generating enough power to keep the shields strong and servos locked. Now she was using only a fraction of the standard output. All the control rods were in but the temperature was still climbing.

 _Its dark now so I should be able to move freely. I need to burn some power. If I can find an industrial freezer I could cool down, but that still leave the reactor churning through its fuel._

Jaw set against the complaints of her body Zeilla levered herself to her feet using the walls and the dumpster she had shifted earlier. A risky gamble it was to hide in the corner of a dead-end L shaped alley, but it was unlikely anyone would discover her right in the back - and surely none would care to look at her little corner. It then occurred to her the voices had become louder and more aggressive.

Poking her visor around the corner she found a group of youths shouting at each other. It was dark but with help from her helmet the Spartan was able to determine most were male, one was female... And one she wasn't sure about. The latter two appeared to be respectable while the others were somewhat less so. It looked like a mugging... But... The female was the one with her back to the street... And she was gaining ground on the males with violence.

 _Reverse mugging?_

Zeilla stepped around the corner and cleared her throat, causing the males before her to jump. She flicked her headlamps on and they all shied away from the bright lights.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

The males panicked and made a run for it past the girl, every one giving her as much space as possible when she lashed out with a booted foot.

Once they were gone the girl growled and kicked the wall. Her companion spoke calmly to which she responded with a halfhearted kick and a mutter then rounded on Zeilla, outrage on her face and in her voice.

 _Oops, I forgot to re-engage the translator._

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand that. Could you repeat it?"

The girl's eyes were murder.

"You heard me perfectly well! Where the hell did you come from anyway?"

The Spartan rose a brow behind her visor. "From the back of the alley."

"Hmpf. And I was sure those punks would have seen Ku-chan too. They loitered around the arboretum. Damnit." the girl grumbled with crossed arms, kicking the wall again.

The other remaining person put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, I'm sure we will find her eventually. She is the Sekirei of Life and we haven't been searching long. It's a big city, after all."

"I know, Shiina, but it's so frustrating that nobody we ask in this city seems to have seen her. It makes me so mad!"

"Yukari-san, I'm sure she escaped capture. The guardian would have stepped in if anyone attacked."

"That just means she got away then. By now anything could have happened!"

"Excuse me..."

Both of them looked up at the lights above her visor, one curious, the other annoyed.

"...where might I find the nearest terminal? I need to connect to the city AI and get a fix on this location."

The young Humans stared at her blankly.

"Time is short, civilians." she urged them. "In approximately fourteen hours my micro reactor will reach meltdown temperature."

"Huh?" The girl snarled. "You messed up in the head or something?"

"Kid, I really don't have time for this-"

The girl shook with rage and wound back her leg. "I'm not a kid!"

Clunk

The girl had good intuition. Even in the darkness her boot landed right in the center of Zeilla's shin-guard. She didn't expect to hear the collision of metal, but quickly swung her boot again and landed the toe right between the Spartan's legs with a second clunk. Again, she was surprised, the height difference becoming more apparent up close.

Zeilla caught the girl's third kick aimed for her inner thigh before it could connect, but then the relatively small Humanoid snapped of a strong punch with a shout of rage.

Right under the ribs, where a lucky needler crystal had stuck two days ago.

B-312 gasped and staggered forward, nearly flattening the two before her in the narrow alley. She barely managed to push off one wall and land a knee under her in time. The one called Shiina hadn't quite moved fast enough and now lay sprawled under her.

"Shiina!"

Up close Zeilla could pick out Asian features. Slightly masculine. The boy had silver hair for some reason. Odd.

She pushed herself upright and turned in time for a boot to bounce off her shields before her eyes. Zeilla snatched the offending limb and stood up, hanging the girl upside down at arm's length. The girl flailed for a second before sparing a hand to hold her skirt and growling with the occasional kick at the Spartan's iron grip. The girl's arms were far too short to reach her now and she couldn't do much with her foot without risking self-harm. Zeilla hoped the Human would calm down soon.

Suddenly her shields flared up again. She found the boy, Shiina, in a sort of fighting stance and outlined by a pale, yellow glow.

Very odd.

"Don't touch her!" he cried, hurling a fist forward.

Zeilla was caught completely off-guard by the sheer power of his strike. Not only was the uppercut strong enough to take her breath away but it also lifted her off her feet for a fraction of a second before gravity brought her down with a thud. That delicate looking boy swung again before she could respond and sent her into the far wall at the corner of the 'L', shattering the bricks on impact. The girl wasted no time in lashing out again with kicks against her shields.

Zeilla pushed the girl aside with ease, lunged forward and quickly hunched down to ward off another impossibly strong blow from Shiina. Her pale blue shields were completely overwhelmed by the shining yellow light spreading out from his small fist an inch from her forearms.

"Civilians! Desist!" she ordered sternly.

Shina threw his fingers out and presented the palm of his hand. The simple motion resulted in that all too familiar sound of her shields shattering.

Then Zeilla realised that glow was not just an illusion. As soon as her shields shattered she felt deathly ill. She staggered backwards and had to place a hand on the ground to steady herself as she lowered her bad knee carefully.

 _That kid before thought I was a robot! I need to prove I'm not a threat - Helmet! Take off your helmet!_

The Spartan quickly tore her helmet off, promptly gagging on the stench of garbage and throwing up blood with stomach acid. Even so she raised her head and a placating hand.

Fortunately, Shiina retracted his hand and the overwhelming nausea subsided with the glow.

"I'm not here to fight..." she began, but that was all she could say before retching up more blood, wet warmth seeping across her chest and back.

 _Crap, the sword wound in my chest..._

With only time to form a death-grip on her helmet Zeilla's vision darkened and she slowly pitched forward.


	2. Chapter I

Chapter I

* * *

 _Ouch._

That word was becoming her first waking thought lately. The short deployment on Reach and the Covenant invasion had changed her world completely. Fighting Human terrorists, pirates and rebel groups was pest control compared to the merciless extermination campaign of the Covenant. To think fighting those separatists had once been called a war was almost laughable.

A strange smell and the sound of water brought B-312 back to the present. She felt like old hell, but seemed to be alive and lying on her back with something under her head.

A cold pressure appeared on her wounded side, causing a sharp inhale. The jarring of her ribs and the weight in the back of her throat spurred a coughing fit.

 _Damnit, hope there is no danger. As much as I hate to admit it I'm in no shape to fight right now._

Once she managed to cough up whatever the irritation was the cold pressure appeared again, damp and dabbing around her mouth and chin. She could smell blood and water... And something that sparked a distant memory.

B-312 slowly twitched every muscle to determine the state of her body. Her helmet was still in her grasp and there seemed to be no significant change from the last time she woke. Without her HUD, there was little else she could discern besides that her head needed shaving soon or hair would start getting in her eyes.

She eased open her eyes and adjusted to the light, then quickly took note of her surroundings. She was on the floor, a door was about a meter from her head, several small windows in two walls to her left and forward, a Humanoid kneeling at her right shoulder.

 _Unidentified being causing a blind-spot, one visible entrance, two or three possible ambush points._

Crucial points of note accounted for the Spartan slowed from rapid darting glances to scrutinize the being next to her.

 _Effeminate male, silver hair, silver eyes, Asian features - Shiina, hostile._

Or was he? The boy had a cloth in hand stained red-orange from blood and water. No weapons, no yellow glow besides the light bulb hanging overhead...

That other smell grew in strength with the sound of softened foot falls.

The boy turned to look over his shoulder and spoke but the sounds meant nothing to her. There was a response and another figure entered her vision. It was the girl she had seen with Shiina in the alley. She too had Asian features. The pair conversed quickly and looked at her, curiosity in their eyes.

B-312 glanced around again and found the room to be some sort of foyer, given the shoes in a short shelving unit by the door. An archaic analogue clock on the wall told her it was 0400 local time... Where ever she was, it was Earth for sure. The symbols around the clock face were unfamiliar to her but she had seen something similar among colonists from Earth before.

The two Humans spoke to her, then between themselves uncertainly.

With a sigh, she slowly raised her head and slipped her helmet back on. Giving the systems a quick once over the Spartan found cause for concern to say the least. Slowly she turned her battered helm and addressed the two.

"I don't understand the situation." she began "But I haven't the luxury of time to make sense of it. Can you understand me?"

The pair looked at each other, confused, but the girl nodded back.

 _They are just kids. I can't let them know what's really going on._

"What is your name?"

The girl hesitated, eyes thoughtful. "My name is Yukari Sahashi. What is your name?"

"Spart- er, my name is Zeilla. I need your help with something, Yukari."

The girl cocked her head and made a quizzical sound.

Zeilla felt about on her shoulder for one of the bolts inset into her armour plating, drawing the girl's eyes to it.

"Can you see the shape in this hole? I need a tool that will fit into the bolt head. I might have one but I can't reach every bolt. I need you to find the right tool in one of my pouches. They are hard to open. You might need your friend's strength."

Yukari peered at the shape and put a finger to her cheek. "I am strong, but what is the need?"

"If I don't do something about it then something very bad will happen, and quite soon." Zeilla said calmly, eyeing the temperature gauges on her HUD. She refocused on picturing the schematics of her armour, looking back at the small Humanoids. "To stop it I need a certain tool."

"Okay, I will look now." she agreed.

Zeilla took a deep breath and held it, then carefully rolled onto her right side so as to keep her ribs still. It took a surprising amount of concentration to keep calm while the two worked at prying open the clasps designed for a Spartan's strength. Yukari had trouble but Shiina seemed to be inferior to her in terms of raw strength, judging by the grunts she could understand around their own language. That was confusing when she recalled how the boy had shattered her shields with only three strikes.

After a number of worrying minutes Yukari presented the correct tool with a query the Spartan hopped she understood the meaning of.

"That is the one." she confirmed. "Now I need you to insert it into the head of each bolt I point out and turn it anti-clock wise."

The Spartan managed to push herself upright without too much pain and with Shiina leaning hard into her back was able to spare a hand to hunt for the first bolt hole. Yukari acknowledged and fiddled around to get the tool lined up correctly, making Zeilla more nervous as the seconds ticked by. She had to take her helmet off again because it was getting too hot.

"Gah! Its stuck!" Yukari hissed as she struggled with the driver, repeating the exclamation in English after a second of thought.

Zeilla was relieved to find someone could speak her language. "This was intended to be done by a machine or Spar- or another of my kind."

Shiina added his arms to the battle but still the bolt would not turn.

Zeilla frowned. This was not good. "I thought your friend Shiina was strong enough after what he did in the alley-"

"He has a strong power, not a strong body." Yukari snapped.

Shiina put a hand on Yukari's shoulder and said something which calmed her down. She started to reply only to cut herself off mid-sentence, causing Shiina concern. The girl perked up and rattled off something in their language.

Zeilla resisted the urge to frown.

"Hey, I think I know someone who can help." Yukari spoke in English to the Spartan's relief. "But it's the middle of the night right now. We'll have a bite to eat and get what sleep we can until morning, okay?"

Zeilla nodded. "There is still time."

After a word with Shiina the girl got up and left him to resume dabbing at a few visible wounds in the damaged weak spots of her armour. When he noticed her flinching Shiina offered the Spartan a pair of tablets from a small plastic bottle. Out of caution Zeilla hesitated. She pulled her helmet back on for its interpretation function.

"What are those?"

Shiina looked at her funny and presented the bottle for inspection. "Painkiller, Yukari-san called them."

"I really need to learn your language." she muttered as she pushed the helmet up enough to pop the tablets in her mouth, barely noticing their tumble down her throat.

"This is not my kinds native language, but the only one I was taught." he clarified. "We were all raised with integration into Japanese culture in mind."

"Japanese..." she repeated, settling back down on the floor as Shiina examined the puncture in her side. "Then I landed in Japan?"

"Yes, specifically the capital city, Tokyo."

 _That confirms something I passed off as a fear inspired outlandish delusion. She thought. The Japan I know of is at the forefront of technological advancement. I can't be sure of anything just yet, however._

Silence fell between them as both considered the questions of their minds. In a few minutes, Yukari returned with three steaming bowls, the source of the strange smell she had detected earlier. It took a little instruction but Zeilla quickly learned how to eat as they did, though the concept of nutrients being gathered from dead worm looking things instead of MREs or tasteless ration bars was baffling her mindset of efficiency. Eating together with a pair of children also made the whole situation feel unreal – there were no Spartans or mess-hall staff, nor was she huddled somewhere in the field out of sight.

Yukari cleared her throat once she finished first. "Hey, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I was a bit hasty. What were you doing in that alley anyway?"

"Resting." Zeilla replied. "For the first time in several days."

The youths shared a glance.

"If you don't mind my asking, where do you come from? I've never seen anyone so tall and that armour is like something off a low-key mecha anime."

The Spartan raised a brow. "Seeing as the secret is known to the Covenant already I suppose it matters little if I tell you. Just don't spread this information around or it could cause a panic."

Yukari and Shiina shared a glance, the former curious and the latter worried.

"I am designated B three one two, Zeila, nicknamed Zeia by my overseer, a member of the Spartan program's third-generation augmentation subject population. I was stationed on the planet Reach, the home of said project. Shortly after arriving my unit discovered an enemy invasion force. In the following week, we evacuated as best we could and tried to buy time for the UNSC fleet but... In the end the best we could manage was scrambled delaying actions and desperate attacks on key locations."

Zeilla paused, looking down at the wear and tear on her gauntlets, delicately pinching a pair of chopsticks. "As far as I know they don't know of Earth yet, and there is a chance of discovering a way to overcome the Covenant, so I guess we can be glad for something."

"You're... You're not from planet Earth, are you." Yukari said. It was clearly a statement.

"Indeed, I was born on Luna before moving to a colony world. I was invited to join the Spartan program after surviving a rare virus strain that crippled my nervous system for nearly a year." Zeilla was beginning to wonder if the pair had somehow missed her mention of the Covenant capturing Reach. Why was her birth-world of importance?

Yukari's eyes went impossibly wide. "You're from space - like the Sekirei!"

The Spartan blinked twice in confusion. "Technically, yes. I'll admit it's unlikely for anyone to want to move to Earth but surely that not strange, is it?"

"Are you joking? The idea of other life in the galaxy is super old but never has anything been discovered until the Sekirei popped up in this city! Now mecha-giants are coming out of alleyways?"

"Wait a second, 'Sekirei'?"

The three of them suddenly realised they were not all entirely on the same page.

Zeilla, having long been apt at responding to the unexpected, was the first to find her mental footing. She quickly inhaled the last of her food and pulled her helmet back on.

"Okay, let's get a few things cleared up. What is the biggest organisation you know of?"

"MBI." both responded.

"Ever heard of the UNSC?"

"No."

"Has Earth's moon been colonised yet?"

Yukari frowned. "In America, a group called NASA have been to the moon but... Right now, they are only thinking about possible life on Mars."

 _Well, shit. This complicates things._

Zeilla propped herself up on her elbows to take the pressure off her ribs. "Yukari, Shiina, I have no idea what is going on or how it is I came to crash in this city, but it's clear to me something strange is going on here."

"I don't understand either." Yukari said. "There are a lot of strange things going on in this city lately too."

"I wonder if the professor knows anything about this." Shiina wondered aloud.

Yukari sighed, though it became a yawn by the end of it. "Well, all this will keep until tomorrow. Let's sleep and talk more in the morning on the way up north."

Zeilla raised her brow in query.

"My brother's girlfriend should be able to help you with your armour - she is really strong." her hostess explained. "We'll get you there as we search for Shiina's sister. We haven't checked much of the North anyway."

"Very well."

* * *

"Yukari-san, are you sure this outfit isn't strange?"

"You look good, you look good! You definitely look like a girl!"

"I-is that so?"

"They'll never notice you in that." Yukari grinned.

 _Only because they're probably staring at the cloaked figure behind him who towers over everyone._ Zeilla thought to herself. "So, your people crashed here before cogniscience but are now contestants in a battle royal to find the strongest. Why?"

"To take our Ashikabi to the higher sky." Shiina replied instantly. "Everything we do, the reason we live, is for our Ashikabi."

"And right now, you two are searching for your only junior, Kusano."

"Yes."

Zeilla narrowed her eyes at the boy. "You aren't looking for your Ashikabi?"

The pair in front of her tensed a little.

"Have you kids got a plan or are you simply wandering about in blind hope?"

"Hey, we're not stupid kids!"

"Yukari-san..."

"Yeah, sorry..."

 _Right..._

"Um, well, I can tell if Ku has been somewhere for some time, so... We look around those places and try to find anyone who might have seen her."

"You never considered reporting her missing to the police?"

Yukari snorted. "The game is a secret, remember? We can't have notices or posters alerting other Sekirei about her."

With a sigh the Spartan decided to drop that part of the matter. "I don't mind helping out in return for hospitality, but how am I supposed to know where she has been or if she is near?"

"Ku's power is the opposite of mine, but she only affects plants and trees." Shiina said. "Any unusually large plant growth is an obvious sign, but I can feel it if she is really close."

"That's helpful, Shiina. Maybe I should study all the plants in the city just to find where Kusano has been." the Spartan muttered sarcastically. "Alright, what does she look like? Is she different from Human children of her age?"

Shiina nodded. "She has long blond hair, almost to her knees. It just grows back to that length no matter how many times it was cut in the labs, thanks to her power because she likes it that long. If you get close enough to tell you'll find she has green eyes."

"What about clothing? Hair can be styled or stuffed under clothing."

"Um... Well, she likes white dresses... MBI always provided us with as many of our chosen outfits as we needed..."

Zeilla frowned. "Then let us hope she is either unwinged or that her Ashikabi is inclined to let her wear the same dress." She didn't dare voice her darker concerns. The Spartan saw far more than she would have liked hunting down the Insurrectionists.

Suddenly the pair leading her stopped, squeaking in surprise. Looking ahead of them Zeilla spotted a blond female staring back at her. The yellow and black clad girl quickly raised a coil above her head and grinned.

"Found you!"

Yukari dashed forward into an alley between two buildings on the left, dragging Shiina behind her. The coil launched towards them a fraction of a second too late and showered them with dust and bits of rock from the corner of one building. Zeilla switched her visor to thermal to find the blond girl charging forward, swing her whip in a circle overhead.

As the girl burst through the cloud and rounded the corner Zeilla stuck out an arm and clotheslined her. Instead of grasping her head in pain as the Spartan had expected the girl growled and lashed out with the whip. Zeilla sidestepped but the whip still wound around her arm. The blond quickly pulled all seven feet of her armoured form and landed a powerful twin kick to her midsection, releasing her whip and sending Zeilla flying down the alley.

Fortunately, Yukari and Shiina had flattened themselves against a wall as she rolled passed and were able to take cover in a doorway when the attacker launched her whip forth again.

"Number thirty-eight, Mitsuha. I'll be taking you to my master, your Ashikabi." the blond Sekirei declared proudly.

Zeilla got to her feet and eyed the girl wearily. "That is one strong girl."

Yukari pulled Shiina with her and ducked under another lash to shelter behind a dumpster. Zeilla edged back to meet them slowly, taking care to smack the tip of the whip aside to divert its course rather than let it pass again.

"What are you doing?" Mitsuha complained angrily. "You don't look like a Sekirei."

"Defending civilians from an unprovoked assault." she countered firmly.

"If you don't get out of the way you'll get hurt." the Sekirei warned, swinging her whip again.

"And you plan to do that all by yourself, huh?"

The girl bristled, then sent her whip out with a yell. Zeilla slapped the tip down into the ground and stomped on it, then reached down and pulled hard. Mitsuha tried to resist, but the Spartan's strength proved greater than her purchase. Zeilla slowly reeled her in despite the girl straining with all she had. She simply could not find enough traction compared to Zeilla's weight and slid forward against her will.

At two meters Zeilla paused. "You don't happen to know the location of number one-oh-eight, do you?"

"I'm not telling you anything!" the Sekirei hissed, putting a foot against the dumpster and leaping back a bit, pulling her off balance for a moment and shifting the dumpster by a meter.

Yukari and Shiina quickly picked themselves up off the ground but hesitated from running to watch Mitsuha and Zeilla struggle against each other.

Mitsuha saw the Spartan's stumble and immediately took to the air to capitalize on the opportunity. Zeilla let the whip go, allowing it to go taut before releasing the end from under her boot. The resulting yelp made her chuckle.

However, she underestimated the Sekirei. Even as she fell Mitsuha managed to right herself and strike. She wrapped her whip around the Spartan's neck and made sure to reel in her weapon once she landed on the roof further down the alley.

Zeilla cursed herself for her inattention. She began to reach for her energy sword, but Shiina stepped in front of her and thrust an arm up at number thirty-eight.

"Number one hundred and seven, Shiina. Release her!"

"Only if you come quietly." Mitsuha smirked.

Shiina then grabbed the whip and began to glow. "Death-guard." he uttered sadly.

The yellow glow intensified as waves pulsed towards the other Sekirei, also enveloping the whip and its owner.

The effect was instantaneous. The whip disintegrated and Mitsuha collapsed to her knees with a cry of pain. When the waves from Shiina's other hand washed over her she screamed and shook, then went limp and pitched over to fall off the roof. She landed awkwardly before the three of them, all colour drained from her hair, clothes and eyes.

"No... Way..." she breathed, struggling to rise. Mitsuha barely got her legs under her before a violet glow flashed from her back and she collapsed again.

"Her crest has disappeared." Shiina stated quietly as a heavy silence fell on them in the wake of the vanished light. "Once MBI arrives to retrieve her we can continue our search for Ku."

Zeilla had no response. The display of power she had just witnessed raised many questions in her mind.

 _Just what kind of world have I landed in?_


	3. Chapter II

Chapter II

* * *

Izumo, _a boarding house... What's a boarding house?_

Zeilla was getting sick of finding more questions than answers. Practically every answer led to at least two questions as well.

 _And why did Yukari insist on going to the store and simply giving me directions for the last three streets? Bah, I'm not cut out for civilian life._

The Spartan paused as she turned onto the path leading to her destination. A silver haired young man in a formal black suit was dragging his immaculate dress shoes through the grass as he walked from the garden to the door of the building.

"Excuse me, sir."

The young man shook himself and nearly broke the laws of physics with the speed at which he turned to face her.

"Uh, good morning." he said cautiously, visibly tensing as he took in her height.

 _At least with this cloak people aren't freaking out completely._

Zeilla approached him slowly, hoping not to seem too threating. "Is there a Sahashi or Musubi living here?"

The man nodded, straightening his suit a little. "Both. Why do you ask?"

"I need someone strong and was directed to Musubi." she told him plainly.

Suddenly the door swung open, but no person appeared. The man poked his head inside for a moment, then gestured for her to follow him.

Zeilla frowned and gripped the hilt of her energy sword, eyes darting between her motion tracker and the doorway until she crossed the thresh-hold. The silver haired man pushed the door shut quickly and an orange-haired woman with glasses pounced, pushing back her hood and unclasping the cloak just before receiving a light punch to the gut.

The Spartan was about to back away to create some space to move about in when the woman spoke.

"B three twelve Zeilla, your micro reactor is about to go critical."

Zeilla froze.

"I'll... Just... Go to bed." the silver haired man said, then departed down a hall to the left of the main entrance.

"I have been keeping an eye on you since you entered the northern section of the city." the redhead continued. "I hacked into your armour's computer as soon as you came in range and already know the situation. I can help you."

"Why should I trust-"

"Because I am a Sekirei with a massive IQ and profound electronics knowledge and skills. I already have the means shut down your reactor but we only have an hour - your HUD's data is incorrect." the woman told her with a smirk.

 _Shit._

"Besides, in exchange for your life the least you can do is let me have a look at all the wonderful goodies that power-suit has." she added as the smirk grew into something bordering on lecherous.

 _Out of the frying pan?_

* * *

Under the cover of darkness Zeilla crept out of Izumo and headed south, cloaked as before but noticeably thinner. Also, significantly lighter.

Sekirei #2, Matsu, had prepared a mechanical device to take apart the main and central piece of the MJOLNIR armour. Once removed from the Spartan's back the two made quick work of the damaged components and successfully reduced the reactions the absolute minimum. That was where the good news seemed to end. In depth analysis of the entire piece discovered great need for repairs, leading them both to the conclusion that continued functionality was too risky.

Reluctantly Zeilla allowed Matsu to shut the reactor down, effectively decommissioning the entire suit until repairs could be made - which without access to the means and materials would be impossible. Without power for its shields and other systems, it was going to draw far too much attention she wasn't sure she could handle. Matsu promised she would find a way but admitted both to the difficulty of the task and her desire to copy everything. The Spartan gave permission against her better judgement.

Without the armour she could believe Earth's gravity to be lesser than that of Reach where she had trained. That said the support for her bad leg and pressure on her many wounds were less, allowing her to feel the full burden of her survival.

 _At least I still have my energy sword... But I no longer have my helmet's translator or map data. Crap._

Looking around Zeilla spotted a tower like no other. It's architecture was quite misplaced and dwarfed even the tallest structures elsewhere. The perfect vantage point to pick out a landmark near Yukari's flat.

Without further thought she set off at a brisk walk in that direction. The Spartan ran across the occasional shady character as she took darker streets that kept her on a more or less direct path, but all seemed wise enough to keep their distance from her. Well, save for two large men who were rather enamored of themselves. Key-word: were. Zellia repelled their ambush, took their knives, belts, illegal revolver and crowbar which left them with only their dignity and modesty.

The Spartan took a break at the main road bordering the north to fasten both belts about her thighs for the small weapons recovered. She would have to continue holding the energy sword or hope against need for it if she was to place it in the pocket of the cloak Yukari had given her. Life without mag-plate holstering was going to be irritating at best.

Using the gun was going to be awkward when her finger only just fit within the trigger guard but at least its recoil was nothing she couldn't handle sans a finger on the grip. The knives however... That switchblade was puny enough to be trouble and the combat knife barely qualified as more dangerous than her fists - power-armour or no.

With a sigh Zeilla trudged onward, once more kicking herself for becoming so reliant upon her armour and its gadgets.

Crossing the street appeared to be a major issue until she remembered how reduced gravity was compared to her norm, after which she simply leapt across to the center line and flipped over a car in the far lane with quick push off from her arms as it passed.

Out of curiosity the Spartan ducked into an alley that seemed to lead toward that massive tower and tried jumping as high as she could. It took a few attempts but Zeilla managed approximately four meters directly upwards, much greater distance horizontally if she had a run up. This opened new possibilities previously limited to jump-pack ODST squads.

With a genuine though pain laced laugh for the first time she could recall Zeilla began to leap from roof top to roof top, the sound of her joy echoing about the streets.

After twenty minutes, she reached the tower.

Impressive.

On the other hand, she was exhausted.

She took time to relax in the shadow of a jeep, but once her legs felt alive again she sprinted forward, leapt up and grasped a windowsill of the tower, having pocketed the sword hilt. Taking advantage of her height and relatively light weight the Spartan was able to pull herself up one floor at a time. To save her arms from tiring too much as elevation became potentially deadly she began using the inset of each column of windows to brace her legs on, edging up slowly.

At the top the view was perfect for her purposes. Besides a bespectacled man extravagantly dressed in white staring at her like she'd grown an extra head or some such. Zeilla ignored him and squinted out to the south for any structure that seemed familiar, such as the building she had punched a hole through when she crashed the night before last.

After a few minutes the man cleared his throat.

"Magnificent view is it not, fallen star?"

Zeilla about-faced slowly, raising a brow at the fact he had chosen to speak English. "I'm sorry, fallen star?"

"But of course!" he declared with a wide grin and wild gestures. "You descended from the heavens in a blaze of fire to land in the grounds of this game of the gods!"

For a moment, the pair stood there frozen, one contemplative and the other seeming triumphant.

"Okay, I'll bite. Game?"

The man flicked his white hair with enthusiasm and slipped a small red device from one sleeve, then proceeded to type vigorously with one digit while giggling to himself in Japanese. Once done he belted out laughter at an impressive volume.

"That's not something you see every day." she mumbled under her breath.

"Ah, things are about to get very interesting." the man said as his exuberance subsided marginally. "Even the gods are watching. What will happen now in this glorious love story? Who can say?"

 _The guy is missing a few rounds in the clip._

A door opened and closed with footsteps in the shadows, setting Zeilla on high alert. Moments later a grey-haired woman left the darkness in tight black attire and what the Spartan thought of as a cross between a cloak and a jacket a shade darker than her hair, fluttering in the breeze. The woman was young, contrary to the assumption implied by her hair, and bore a sword in scabbard on her left hip. Her face was relaxed but her half-closed eyes overflowed with contempt.

The white clad man struck a pose and grinned even wider. "Ah, Karasuba-kun! Give our gods-nova a ticket to the qualifier!"

Instantly the woman appeared in front of Zeilla and gripped her left shoulder like a vice, simultaneously jabbing a syringe into her neck and thumbing the plunger. The Spartan threw a punch but the woman easily and gracefully spun out of reach, smirking devilishly.

An intense burning sensation flared up inside her skull.

"What the hell did you just give me?!" she grimaced as the burning spread to her chest.

"A gift from the gods to me, the game master, to you!" cackled the still unnamed man, inspiring the presumably named Karasuba to dash forward again.

Try as she might Zeilla was just too slow to stop her injecting another syringe. This one spread biting cold at first as the burning flowed to her extremities, but the cold gradually boiled unbearably hot and spread faster than the first drug. She lost all control of herself and sprawled across the rooftop, hissing in pain. Zeilla held on to cogniscience even so.

She was rewarded with blurry glimpses of being dragged through corridors by her shoulders for about five minutes, then darkness won out.

* * *

 _Ouch... Deja vu..._

Zeilla opened her eyes but was not greeted by her HUD. Sighing as recent events came back to mind she ran a manual check of her body while sitting up and attempting to clear the fog of sleep from her senses. Everything seemed fine until she lost her balance and fell sideways. She remained still for a few seconds, then examined her surroundings.

It seemed to be the interior of a limo. Certainly not built for luxury, merely transport and protection. Also of note was the distinctly foreign feeling of flesh pressed against her own. Turning her gaze revealed herself and Karasuba to be in a semi compromising position.

Needless to say, the other was nonplussed.

Zeilla extricated herself from the woman's personal space cautiously. Karasuba eyed her for but a moment, then looked out the window. The Spartan followed her gaze to find they were moving through the city. It was likely a corner that put her off balance earlier.

The limo abruptly halted and Karasuba kicked a door open. The meaning was abundantly clear.

Gathering the small pile of things she had collected from the seat opposite her, Zeilla wondered if her captor was one of the hundred plus Sekirei. Her speed was beyond anything she had ever seen.

Pausing at the doorway the two women locked eyes. In that single moment Zeilla was certain Karasuba was not to be taken lightly. She was most certainly a Sekirei and bore a hot, ruthless hatred behind her cold and collected mask.

She knew those eyes well. She used to see them every morning.

Zeilla gave a mock salute, then departed the limo proper. She looked to the tower and determined she was in the south. The Spartan set off for the closest tall building with sightseeing once more in mind. It took less effort to leap across the rooftops this time and her injuries no longer nagged at her. She took the blessing without any real desire to know how... For now.

 _Perhaps Matsu knows far more than she let on._

Pausing to catch her breath a commotion caught her ear. Two voices. One male and angry, one female and distressed. Zeilla gritted her teeth. There were far too many unsavory creatures in the world she came from, and as her ears proved this one was the same. Well, any world, one could assume.

 _Hang on... I have no important or secret mission or time constraints, just a desire to return to Yukari's flat. My last order is complete and it was supposed to the end for me. I lack an objective... I have time for diversions. But what do I do? I can't just kill someone or incapacitate them - no regular UNSC troops are going to sweep in after me and deal with the loose ends._

The female shrieked and Zeilla shut her considerations away. As typical of soldiers, compartmentalising came as naturally as breathing.

She stepped off the roof and landed in the narrow street below, rolling to dissipate the force. With practiced expertise, she jogged towards the sounds of a struggle and reached for her rifle.

 _Oops._

Shaking off her ingrained action she ducked into an alley and flattened herself against one wall. There were two figures a few meters ahead, the source of the commotion. Pulling the compacted switchblade out she took aim and threw it at the male. The little handle bounced off the back of the male's head and he cried out in surprise more than pain.

Zeilla selected the crowbar next.

Having begun searching the alley the male was able to duck just in time to avoid the steel projectile taking his head off. It clanged loudly against the wall, causing a frightened yelp to join the echoes of its landing.

The Spartan drew the revolver and strode towards them.

The male seemed more outraged than intimidated, chattering confrontationally. As her eyes adjusted further to the darkness she saw the female looking a little worse for wear and clearly afraid but not injured.

Zeilla decided to up the ante. Stepping forward she raised the pistol one handed like the insurrectionists usually did. Intimidating perhaps but mostly stupid - you might feel cool but two hands on your weapon and a combat stance is steadier. The young man growled but backed away from his victim. He wasn't game to test her skills, fortunately for both of them. She watched him moving away for a moment, then put the gun away and went over to the girl.

"Are you alright?"

The girl stared at her blankly.

"Great, the language barrier again." she sighed.

Suddenly she heard movement behind her. Zeilla spun around just as a fist connected with her ribs. Surprisingly it didn't hurt. She punched the opportunist in the shoulder, staggering him back several paces. He seemed to hesitate at her unflinching response, then went for the crowbar.

 _Huh, maybe this is what all those brutes see when picking on us Humans: small cowards._

He came at her with shouts of anger and wild swings she easily ducked or backed away from. The fact that none of his attacks connected only enraged him further, resulting in a few chunks of concrete coming free of the walls. Her foot bumped something eventually so she pushed him back two meters with a relatively gentle kick to allow her a glance at her footing.

 _Woah, that's the biggest hammer I've ever seen._

Zeilla smacked the next swing up away from her and kicked him again, then bent down and hefted the huge hammer up onto her shoulder with a grunt of effort. The man blanched and backed away again. With her effective range now significantly increased even he realised how unwise it would be to attack again.

The Spartan raised the hammer in preparation to strike and he bolted out onto the street, vanishing around the corner.

With a smirk Zeilla laid the weapon back on her shoulder, turning again to the girl. The brunette looked up at her with an awestruck expression on her face, causing the Spartan to chuckle at the realisation of how strong she was in comparison to normal Humans.

Zeilla held out her free hand palm up as if to say 'friend' and hoped her smile actually looked like one. The girl took her hand and said something in an appreciative tone, then came close and embraced her arm tightly.

"Well, at least it all worked out anyway." she sighed. "Thankfully some things are universal - and not just threats of violence."

With language being an issue in resolving matters the Spartan resumed her search for Yukari's flat, dragging the girl along too. Or rather, the girl refused to let go. Eventually Zeilla ended up carrying her like an infant on her hip when she fell asleep

By the time their destination came into view it was well into the day and nobody was home. Zeilla was ready to crash too after letting herself in the open back window of the bathroom. After all it was no easy task to handle a limp body through a window without causing injury, nor was her own size any help with the process. She found a corner out of the way and propped herself against the walls, laying her cling-on-companion's head in her lap and draping the borrowed cloak over the girl.

As B-312 drifted off to sleep she thought about how weird all the people she'd met so far had dressed.

* * *

For the first time in recent history 'ouch' was not Zeilla's first waking thought. Instead she woke to find Yukari standing over her and the girl she had rescued last night clinging to her again.

"You got one too now, huh Z-chan?" Yukari giggled.

Zeilla blinked. "What? Who?"

Yukari cocked her head to one side. She pointed at the Spartan. "Z-chan." she said, then pointed at the brunette. "Sekirei."

Zeilla's eyes widened. "You're joking."

Yukari pointed to the door. "She's a weapon type. The absurd size of her weapon outside was a dead give-away."

 _Okay, I'll give her that one. I should have thought of that._

"To clarify, she was under attack from a thug so I stepped in. I found the hammer during the confrontation. She wouldn't let go of me once the guy fled, so I came here in the hope you could help with the language barrier again."

Yukari nodded. "I knew learning English would come in handy someday. I can't help you all the time though so maybe you should learn Japanese while I'm around."

"If you have time to teach me, sure." she agreed. "I don't have a clue how to start. For now, I think we need to talk about this whole situation. I've found a Sekirei who seems to like me, what does this mean?"

Yukari snickered then conversed with the girl for a few minutes. "Her name is Yashima, number eighty-four. She says the man you fought off was trying to wing her. If not for the rule against harming bystanders she could have got rid of him herself but instead he managed to overpower her." she paused and growled. "I hope you beat the crap out of him for that."

Zeilla shook her head. "You're going to need to explain what you mean by 'wing'."

Yukari blushed and looked away. "Sekirei become more powerful and bind to their Ashikabi... With a kiss. Wings of light appear when the bonded do it, hence the name."

Yashima blushed too, having picked up on the vibe.

"So, I'm not her Ashikabi then."

"Not for sure, as any Ashikabi could wing her." she confirmed. "But Shiina told me Sekirei will react to certain Ashikabi. They get... Er... Hot all over... And it gets more intense the closer they get. It helps them find their Ashikabi. Yashima says she is reacting to you."

Zeilla looked down at the girl on her arm who looked back with a shy smile, blushing again. She put the backs of her fingers on Yashima's forehead and found enough heat to cause concern of a fever.

"I see."

Yashima moaned and leaned into her hand.

"Umm... Yukari?"

"Wow, she really is reacting." Yukari snickered. "Well, Z-chan, are you gonna kiss her or what?"

Zeilla raised a brow. "You who were getting skittish simply talking about 'winging' are telling me to kiss an alien girl I've just met?"

"Hey, it's not a huge deal as we're all girls here. But, if you don't watch out then she might decide-"

Suddenly Yashima grabbed the Spartan's head and pulled their lips together.

"- for you... Like that."

Zeilla was too surprised to respond. Before she could formulate a suitable response the Sekirei forced her tongue into her mouth, resulting in the iconic glowing wings to appear from her back. Blue light flooded the room as the violet flash of the Sekirei symbol appeared on Yashima's back.

Ten seconds of kissing later and Yukari started to get nervous. The Sekirei was really going for it and showed no signs of stopping. Fifteen seconds... Twenty...

Zeilla's brain caught up and she pushed them apart, more than a little stunned.

"That... Wasn't a kiss... That was attempted murder by suffocation." she mumbled while Yashima happily panted something out in Japanese.

"It's official." Yukari said. "She made the oath. Congratulations, you are now bound together and part of the game."

Shiina exited the bathroom and paused. He looked at the pair of females sitting on the floor, then at Yukari's sheepish behavior. He said something that his Ashikabi nodded to and Yashima kissed Zeilla on the cheek.

"Please tell me I'm not going to be getting suffocated in my sleep." the Spartan muttered under her breath. "Okay, Yukari, what exactly am I supposed to do now?"

The other Ashikabi thought for a moment. "I suppose... Pit your Sekirei against those of other Ashikabi. That's what we are supposed to do according to MBI. Shiina and I have been too busy looking for Ku-chan to think about fighting."

Shiina spoke up again to which Yukari whined back at in Japanese, her mood seeming to darken though he merely sighed. Yashima gasped and asked a question. Shiina nodded and Yukari shrugged.

"Should I be clued in here?" Zeilla asked.

Yukari scratched the back of her neck hesitantly. "Apparently, our search for Kusano and our- well, my way of dealing with uncooperative people has caused some to call us the 'Demon Ashikabi' and the 'Death God'. It's made it harder because now people try to run away."

"If you are that feared then you definitely aren't going about this the right way." Zeilla replied.

Yukari pouted but said nothing.

"If language wasn't a problem then I'd see if I could find her for you." she offered. "Unfortunately, with my armour damaged I can't power the helmet translator."

"A shame. That is one epic suit."

"Indeed. Having spent several years practically living in it only to lose it now... I feel naked without it." Zeilla sighed, awkwardly getting to her feet with Yashima attached. "Speaking of my armour I want to go check on it."

"Not like that you aren't!" Yukari declared, exasperated.

The Spartan looked down at her body. "Problem?"

"What, you don't carry proper clothes around in your armour?"

"This ballistic body suit provides the best buffer between flesh and the armour-plating layer of the MJOLNIR. It's tough enough to protect against the vacume and absolute zero temperatures of space. In addition, it absorbs and channels sweat to join the waste system to erase potential discomfort based distractions." Zeilla rattled off quickly. "It's better than civilian gear."

Yukari slapped a hand over her face. "That's not the point. What if it was flesh coloured, not dark grey?" she groaned.

Zeilla cleared her throat. "Ah, I see."

"Okay, look, keep the cloak over the top for now. Later we can go shopping for some real clothes."

"In case you have forgotten I don't own a thing, have no money and can't get a job because I'm mono-lingual." she snorted.

"I know, but as an Ashikabi you now have the means to provide for yourself and your Sekirei." Yukari countered, withdrawing from a pocket of her skirt a black and silver plastic sheet the size of an ID card. "Each Sekirei has an MBI VIP expense card for that purpose. For one they usually get their clothes torn up in a fight, and they can eat like no tomorrow. Shiina isn't even close to being an active person and he eats more than I do so imagine how much Yashima needs to be able to swing that hammer around."

#84 held up an identical card with a smile.

Zeilla rubbed her temple and ruffled the girl's hair. "This is crazy... But if this MBI is going to hand out free money to contestants in their game I wonder what they get out of it."

"Nobody knows for sure." Yukari shrugged.

Yashima's stomach gurgled. Shiina smiled and called to her, getting up and heading to the kitchen. The aliens left and Yukari turned to follow.

"Yukari?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to need a map I can read. I can't rely on you to help me around the city."

The girl raised a brow. "You want to go somewhere?"

Zeilla nodded. "I know someone who could be persuaded to do me a favor, and if those cards are what you say then I can think of a few things I'll need to acquire - for my own peace of mind at the very least."

"Let me get my laptop and I'll google one for you. It will be out of date due to all the 'redecorating' from Sekirei battles - but mostly accurate."

"Good enough for me."

"I'll help Shiina make dinner so it will be ready sooner. We were going to go out tonight anyway."

 _Hmm... Let the populous beware._


	4. Chapter III

Chapter III

* * *

The door opened before she could even raise a hand to knock.

"I saw you coming, Z-tan, and with number eighty-four." Matsu whispered while trying to hide behind the door. "It shouldn't even be possible for you to wing her, yet I can sense the bond."

 _Z-chan? Z-tan? I'm confused._

"Let's talk in private, Matsu."

The redhead nodded vigorously and giggled as she ushered them inside. After checking the other residents were elsewhere #2 led them to her lair and brought up two images on one of the many monitors surrounding the room. Zeilla's mugshot appeared to have been taken from grainy security camera footage while Yashima's looked professionally produced.

"Ashikabi have a special variance in their DNA compared to the rest of Humanity." Matsu began. "You came from somewhere unaffected by the cause of this variance so it is theoretically impossible for you to be compatible with any Sekirei. You could make as much contact as you wanted and nothing would happen. I even ran a test on some of your blood from your armour and confirmed it. Evidently something else is at work here." she concluded, gesturing to the file on display. "MBI has recorded you as 'fallen star' and Ashikabi of number eighty-four."

 _Huh, I was right. I accidently stumbled upon MBI the other day._

"Does the name 'Karasuba' sound familiar to you? I'm sure she's a Sekirei."

Matsu squeaked and shivered. "Wh- wh- where did you hear of h- he- her?"

"You know the really tall tower in the middle of the city-"

"You didn't go there!"

Zeilla frowned. "I climbed to the top."

The woman stared at her in disbelief for several seconds. "You're insane."

She shrugged. "Maybe, but it was a good spot to survey the city. At the top I met an excitable man dressed in white and he called out Karasuba. She attacked me with some sort of drug in a syringe, then another. The next thing I knew she was dropping me off in the southern part of the city."

"I see." Matsu said and scratched her chin, then began typing rapidly.

Zeilla squinted over her shoulder, unsure that fingers were made to move so fast. "I theorize that those two injections - or something done while I was out cold - mutated my DNA to produce the markers of an Ashikabi."

Matsu nodded. "I agree. MBI's resources are truly amazing. Such a procedure should have killed the subject, but in your case, you have experienced such mutagens before. It was obvious in your blood."

"I'm sure you would love to know the details." Zeilla smirked. "I'll tell you about that part of the Spartan program if you in turn do me a favor.

Matsu froze. "Umm... What favor?"

"Relax, brainiac." she chuckled. "I only want to know where I can acquire some items and for you to make me a two-way translator like my helmet had."

"Done!" the redhead exclaimed and dived under the monitors into the darkness, the sounds of clattering objects filling the room. "In fact, I had already been looking into the neural interface you use to operate some of the armour systems and started working on something you could plug into the implant. It's a modified version of your helmet's sensory outputs crossed with the speakers and the communications module in one headset!"

With that the Sekirei crawled back onto the beds holding one such device. It had three head bands, one ear piece and a microphone. At the top of the ear piece was a pair of jury-rigged interface jacks.

"Go on, try it out!" Matsu giggled, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

Zeilla took the headset and carefully lined up the jacks with her implant, then squinting at Matsu's drooling visage, made the connection and settled the headbands to ensure it would remain secure.

Matsu's eyes glowed an ethereal cyan and she placed two fingers of one hand to her temple, covering her mouth with the other. "Oooh, the intimacy! I can practically feel your mind- ouch, bad idea, your subconscious doesn't like me."

Zeilla suddenly wondered if trusting this shut-in of dubious motive was unwise.

"/ /Z-tan, can you hear me?/ /"

Zeilla blinked. That was Matsu's voice in the ear piece and the ear piece alone. "Yes."

The glow vanished as the Sekirei cackled and stood up to point up at the ceiling dramatically. "I am truly a genius! Watch out Minaka! I will definitely take you down!"

In a flash, she returned to her spot at the heart of her operations center and began typing away once more, brown eyes sparkling.

"If you understood that then my device is working perfectly." she said, still bubbling with a foreboding kind of delight. "It translates English and Japanese in real-time as well as serving as a communicator."

Yashima, who up to now had been patiently observing the exchange, poked the headset. "Translator?"

Zeilla blinked at her. "Well, it does work. Yes, Yashima, it allows us to finally talk."

The girl's face lit up with joy and she embraced the Spartan tightly.

Matsu snickered suspiciously, then suddenly gasped and whirled about to face the curtain as it parted.

"Oh my, what have we here?"

Zeilla gave the new arrival a quick once over. A mature yet young woman with long violet hair dressed in something dated. Nothing special, except for the sense of danger pouring off her in waves. For a brief moment, their eyes met and Zeilla saw them flicker.

The woman's face hardened for a fraction of a second before returning to an expression so benevolent and happy Zeilla found it hard to believe that totally malevolent vibe was coming from her.

"I didn't do anything weird, Miya! I swear!" Matsu squeaked in terror.

"And who are these two? Bringing guests to an Inn without introducing them to the owner? Matsu..."

"I'm sorry! I wasn't- I- please don't-"

"I'll let it slide this time." Miya said with a quiet laugh. "After all, it wouldn't do to disturb the competition going on down stairs."

With an almost imperceptible glance at Zeilla the woman left, though her aura took a moment longer to dissipate.

Matsu collapsed back onto the bed and breathed out a ragged sigh of relief. "I survived..." she whispered to herself. "Truly the Landlady is unbeatable."

Yashima shivered.

"That woman is more than she looks." Zeilla thought aloud.

In a flash, Matsu was back on her computer. "Anyway! I have an idea of how to add augmented reality to your headset using the visual inputs as well as the audio you have now... But..."

"You want another favor exchange when you have only delivered on half of your side and I haven't delivered on mine?"

"Details, details." she muttered. "If you accept I'll actually be indebted to you, but then again you could prove to be a threat to even Sekirei if I'm right about what kinds of things you want me to find for you."

Zeilla narrowed her eyes. "Alright, I'm game. Let's talk."

"Wow, it's like you two are speaking a different language again." Yashima sighed.

"Don't worry, Yashima." Matsu said. "I'll explain everything. It includes you too."

The curtain parted again for a silver haired male who was hunched over and had pain written all over his face. Zeilla remembered meeting him the first time she came to Izumo Inn.

"Matsu-"

"Right here." the redhead cut him off, tossing a small bottle to him which he caught easily and quickly tipped four tablets out. "You shouldn't have more than two, Kagari-tan"

Kagari ignored her advice and knocked all four back at once. Then he noticed Zeilla and Yashima were in the room. "Oh, you have company in your lark? I'm Kagari, a resident here."

Zeilla mentally filled the information away. "I'm Zeilla. We met the other day at the door."

Kagari made a curious noise. "And since then you have been bumping into Sekirei almost as much as the Ashikabi down stairs. I was watching when you beat me to Yashima's rescue."

"Kagari is the Sekirei guardian." Matsu supplied.

The Spartan did a double take, struggling to imagine the man folded over in pain before her as a protector of these powerful aliens. "Get hurt in the line of duty?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing." he lied, forcing himself to straighten.

Then she had an idea. "If you watch over Sekirei... Do you happen to know where number one-oh-eight is?"

The man swallowed. "Yes... She found her Ashikabi and is very happy living in safety. Why do you ask? What is it to you?"

"Nothing to myself, honestly, but-"

"Battles between winged Sekirei are none of my concern, so you will get no help from me." he said grimly.

Zeilla narrowed her eyes. "I am acquainted with one-oh-seven who wants to find her."

Kagari shook his head and huffed. "That one, huh? Bonded to the 'demon Ashikabi' that has been terrorizing those who wander and lurk in the evening. I will definitely not aid those two."

Before she could respond he about-faced and left with the curtain swaying from the speed of his departure.

Matsu sighed. "We know Shiina-tan means well enough for Kusano-tan has said they are as close as siblings, but it's his Ashikabi we do not trust. We Sekirei will do anything if our Ashikabi order it, even at the cost of our own lives."

Zeilla's brow furrowed as she considered Yukari. The girl was volatile and prone to violence if one pushed her buttons while having a soft spot for her Sekirei. That said, she had handled the impossible concept and staggering implications of Zeilla's arrival on the scene very well, also showing good sense in her chosen interrogation targets according to what the Spartan had pieced together. Yukari might be impulsive but she was smart. It was possible she was intending to harm 108 as Kagari and Matsu feared and was hiding it from Shiina and Zeilla.

After all, Yukari was the one who told her the objective of the game: eliminate the competition.

"I see your concern." Zeilla admitted. "I will have to determine her motives myself, then. For what it's worth, she didn't have to take me in or help me orient myself, then there is her response to Yashima. I don't see anything sinister."

Matsu shook her head, turning to her keyboard and quickly bringing up dozens of files and security recordings on all of the monitors surrounding them. "She didn't tell you everything. Let me fill you in on the purpose of MBI's private army, the reason this city was chosen for the Sekirei project, and finally, about the little bird who wants to fly away."

* * *

Once again Zeilla was forced to carry Yashima around. They had spent all night talking with Matsu and now with their discussions complete it was time for the Spartan to act on promises made.

Bouncing her Sekirei higher on her back Zeilla carefully closed Matsu's false door, then padded down the stairs. Fortunately leaving the hammer in Yukari's flat meant they weren't detected by other Sekirei on the way here and now spared Zeilla the need to figure out how to stealthily cross two thirds of the city with both burdens.

The violet haired landlady met her at the door and reminded her that Matsu's presence was not to be disclosed before bidding them farewell and asking her to let themselves out.

Zeilla got the distinct feeling that this Miya did not like her.

She had just shut the doors behind her when she noticed Kagari leaning against the pillar under the entrance overhang, hands half in his pockets. His body was tense. He was ready to move in an instant.

"Good morning." he greeted her, voice low and a weary look in his eye.

The Spartan responded in kind. "Good morning, only by a few hours."

Kagari cycled a breath. "I will be honest, Zeilla-san. I work with someone who is quite upset at your inclusion in the Sekirei project thanks to MBI's president. You have utterly no history. We have no idea what kind of person you are or how you will treat your Sekirei."

Zeilla watched him carefully. "I don't know how I will treat her either, so of that we can find out together over time."

Kagari frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Matsu must have kept her suspicions to herself then." she thought out loud. "Let's run through it together to make everything clear."

Kagari crossed his arms expectantly.

"I am a soldier. More accurately, I am one of an elite number of genetically augmented Humans implanted with ceramic sheathing to my skeleton and cybernetics to increase strength, reaction time and permit limited Human-to-machine interfacing."

The man's brow rose gradually as she spoke, his jaw opening slightly at her pause.

"My purpose in the broadest of terms is the defense of Humanity as a species. I specialise in counter terrorism, assassination, infiltration, sabotage and direct assault. Be the field on planet, in atmosphere, in space or across them all I fight for survival against a force so overwhelming we appear little more than blip on their radar." she added as she stepped closer and bent down to look him right in the eyes. "And I know when I see someone with the same sense of duty to their species."

Kagari met her gaze without flinching. "That doesn't tell me where you stand. I have never heard of such a force, nor have I heard of battles in the stars. You defend Humans? Then what of us? Are we a threat?"

"I may not have been in this world long but I can think of far more logical courses of action for aliens than setting up a game such as this where the objective is to fight and kill your own kind." Zeilla told him grimly. "Matsu tells me in not so few words that a Human is behind this... 'thing'. MBI may be an organisation operated by Humans but it is clearly a threat to Humanity and in breach of many ethical and legal boundaries. Its president instigated this, no?"

Kagari nodded.

"I see countless people's lives at risk because of this game. MBI is a terrorist organisation now and that makes it my target. Minaka Hiroto is the head of the organisation so he is at the top of my list. You Sekirei are fellow victims of terrorism and that makes any who can fight my allies, such as Matsu and Yashima. If anyone cannot fight, such as number ninety-five Kuno, then I will stand between them and danger."

Zeilla straightened and set her jaw in resolution. "I trust that tells you and your accomplice on what ground I stand."

"Do you believe MBI can be fought?" he challenged. "They have a wealth of resources, money, technology, power to alter Sekirei on the molecular level and significant political clout here in Japan. Also, somehow Minaka is keeping other nations from interfering. They have locked down the entire city. If you plan to fight, then you must realise you face a well-equipped army and at least three powerful Sekirei."

Zeilla grinned. "I do. In fact, this is exactly what I was trained for. I have faced down and killed aliens larger, stronger and armed with better technology than myself before and been the only one to walk away. No record of any other could best me, save one of my predecessors." she told him plainly and began walking away.

As she turned onto the street Kagari had a final parting word.

"Good luck."

* * *

"Mmmm... That smells good." Yashima squirmed in anticipation as they exited the cafe.

Zeilla couldn't help but smirk at the little plastic card in her hand as the Sekirei devoured their purchases faster than a grunt could run from battle. Yukari had been right. The card was a godsend for those unable to support a Sekirei by their own means and Yashima's appetite was astounding. The teenager had an athletic and strong figure while eating slightly more than herself. To appearances the girl should be overweight.

This was one of the last cafes in their tour around the city that led them back to the northern most region.

"Yashima, tell me again why we are doing this."

The girl finished her muffin and cleared her throat after a sip of coffee that left froth all over her lip. "So, that we learn our way around the city which could give us an advantage in battle, using food as a cover for wasting MBI's money." she recited.

"You forgot the most important reason." she reminded her, gesturing to the froth.

Yashima licked her lip sheepishly. "Right, uh... We pay by card and ask for hard cash in change which we occasionally take to a bank to exchange for higher denomination bills. This gives us some untraceable finance so that we can buy things we don't want MBI to know about."

"Less traceable finance. And why not just withdraw a large amount from an ATM? It would be easier and faster."

"Because even though all the card transactions are logged a large one-off withdrawal could alert MBI to watch us more than other Sekirei and Ashikabi."

"Exactly. You are getting the hang of thinking these things through."

Yashima smiled and blushed at the compliment, pulling the black cargo jacket of her new outfit tighter around herself as the cool evening air assailed them both.

Along the way Zeilla had found something close to military standard hard wearing garments for them both and peaked caps to hide their faces a little. They both had black scarves they could use to mask the lower half when needed too. She had let Yashima keep her hair ribbon though as the girl needed something to keep her grounded or she could get lost in the huge changes Zeilla was bringing to her world.

The Spartan was still wondering about what to do with her hair... Well, for both of them. Yashima's was chin length light brown in complete contrast to their black clothing while her own deep red was starting to appear at the top edge of her vision. Yashima probably wouldn't take to dye or a cut too well she thought. Too much change at once.

 _Though perhaps the reward of sweets, pastries and cakes that helped her through today might be a good way to train her quickly._

Zeilla mentally slapped herself again. It was hard to think of teaching a child as different to training a cadet or an animal. Having limited experience with either didn't help. Where the former had signed up and the latter was sub sentient her loyal Sekirei was fully sentient and thus should receive the full rights of Human civilians. Admittedly something unconsidered in the war with the Covenant thanks to all alien life trying to kill them.

Confidence was another issue. No matter how many times Zeilla praised her successes Yashima always became shy.

"She needs to grow some balls."

"Balls?"

 _Crap._ "Nothing, never mind. It's going to get dark soon. We'll head over to that MBI outpost now. Have you got the little present from Matsu ready to go?"

Yashima nodded. "Yes, master."

"Yashima..."

"Yes?"

"One: a master is generally male or a person bearing a certain title. A female is called a mistress, though the term is somewhar archaic and disused. Two: I don't hold such a title or rank. Three: I am not a teacher or instructor - I'm doing what I can, but it's not my skillset."

#84 tilted her head to one side. "So... If you are teaching me, but aren't my teacher... Then you must be my mentor?"

Zeilla shrugged. "Somehow I don't think you should go around calling me a mentor either. Just call me Zeilla - it's the only name I own from my life in the Spartan program."

"Okay, Zeilla-sempai."

The Spartan rolled her eyes and bopped Yashima on the head. "Don't forget what we talked about this morning. Without your usual hammer, things will be tough for you if we have to fight. This sledgehammer I've got under my cloak is shorter than you are used to."

She nodded and bit her lip - a sign Zeilla learned meant the Sekirei was resisting her clingy habit. "I'll execute a fighting retreat and only use my Norito if we get too much pressure."

"Correct."

The girl smiled again with pinking cheeks.

"And don't forget to use everything you can to your advantage. If life and death hang in the balance, then anything and everything goes. I can't afford to lose you now."

At that Yashima trapped her in a tight hug, once again surprising the Spartan with her strength. "I love you too, Zeilla-sempai."

Zeilla cycled a breath and put an arm around her shoulders. "I know, you don't have to keep reminding me."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it." she sighed into the Spartan's abdomen.

"Come on, Yashima, we're one block away. Time for you to hit the rooftops."

She breathed deeply and gave her one last squeeze before letting go and nodding as her shyness returned. Zeilla gave her the concealed sledgehammer and then they parted, the Sekirei leaping up to disappear over an apartment building and the Spartan continued forward while running through her limitations again to prevent forgetting her lack of armour.

Ahead their target stood out at the corner of one of the northeastern streets. It used to be a small rental car dealer before the lockdown but now served as an MBI supply depot for a section of the perimeter guard force. The signage was still lit but it was clearly for the guards outside to have some light besides the street lamps around the small parking lot. Two soldiers were smoking and chatting under the neon pink, another two were patrolling around the building and four were wandering around the edge of the parking lot.

Another two stood either side of the entrance with an armoured jeep parked just inside.

This was why Zeilla had taken Yukari's advice to go clothes shopping, though the other Ashikabi no doubt would disagree on the result. In the dim light, there were plenty of shadows for someone clad in black to hide in while still being able to see clearly with the naked eye.

Zeilla fell to a crouch as she emerged from the shadow of the building and quickly rushed to the island in the middle of the road, laying flat with it between her and the target building. After watching the guards for a minute, she stuck a hand out and slapped the island when all eyes were anywhere but northeast.

Yashima was watching from above for such a signal and made her own move. The Sekirei leapt across the street to the adjacent building, then let herself down the south side a way before pushing off and landing on the target roof.

Picking out the drop only because she knew where to look, Zeilla began to crawl across the rest of the street into the shadow of a trash can. Counting ten she then crouch-walked into the parking lot up behind one of the four perimeter patrols.

"Drop the guns." she ordered.

One soldier turned around right into her uppercut, snapping his head back with a loud crack, while the other ended up staring down the barrel of her stolen revolver. Grabbing the unconscious man by the collar before he could fall and holding him to her chest she prodded the other along their patrol route, making sure he knew she could shoot him faster than he could raise his rifle. To the other guards nothing would seem wrong at a glance -two people on the patrol route.

As soon as they were in the shadow of the rental car dealership Zeilla dropped the body and snatched the rifle off the other soldier before clubbing him over the head with it. She slung the rifle over her shoulder as she caught him and gave him another knock under the chin like his buddy, a crack and awkward angle of his neck suggested he was out of action - permenantly. Checking the coast was clear again the Spartan hefted the guy up and spun in a full circle before letting go, hurling the unfortunate man across the lot and into the side of the jeep with a clatter of armour.

The sound drew the attention of the entrance guards first and their departure from their posts spiked the curiosity of the two smokers. As they went over to investigate Yashima climbed down the sign and dropped down at the door. She ducked inside, hammer ready, while Zeilla threw the first guard she took out to collide with the smokers about the middle of the parking lot. The smokers cried out and every soldier rushed from their patrol to seek out the cause of their flying fellows, but Zeilla had already hopped up onto the roof with the other fallen rifle. Like a javelin, she sent it through the passenger window of the jeep and redirected the attention south.

Pressing her new gun to her shoulder the Spartan followed Yashima inside.

The Sekirei had done her part with great enthusiasm. The guards inside were certainly due a long recovery for one and most of the interior was wrecked beyond a simple re-plastering job. She was bouncing on her toes at the end of the hall to the service garage with a happy smile on her face and a bloodied sledgehammer in her hands.

"Good work, but now comes the dangerous part."

"And then the hardest part." she nodded, moving back to stand against the door frame.

Zeilla counted down from three on her fingers, then formed a fist. In an instant Yashima effortlessly swung the sledgehammer and punched lock clean out of the door. Zeilla brushed it aside as she charged through, zeroing in on a quartet of MBI soldiers across the small garage and putting two rounds into each before ducking behind an SUV.

The return fire was hesitant and focused on the doorway, giving her an opportunity to pop up and drop another guard as she dashed over to another SUV. The remaining five soldiers tracked her with heavy fire until she took cover again, then they kept up a steady stream of bursts to keep her pinned.

But then they all ran empty.

 _Idiots._

Yashima remembered her cue and charged in with her weapon raised high and a shout, crossing the distance quickly by leaping from the floor to a pile of crates to a jeep. With a final push, off she was among the five. She caved in one guard's skull with her opening attack despite his helmet and turned the follow through into a large sweep that took out the other four's legs.

From there it was a simply matter of clobbering them one by one faster than they could pick themselves up. An easy task for the alien girl.

By the time Zeilla stood next to her the Sekirei was covered in blood and looking a little disappointed.

"Over too fast for you?"

Yashima nodded, flicking a bit of grey matter off the end of her nose.

The Spartan chuckled. "Don't worry, you know what's next don't you."

"Yes, I'll fill up one of the jeeps right away!" she grinned.

"Make sure you get the right crates or we'll just end up looking stupid." Zeilla cautioned.

"Okay!"

 _What the hell is up with this girl? Violence doesn't faze her at all but she gets shy just trying to buy food on her own? And I thought I was unsuited to civilian life._

Looting a number of clips from the dead guards Zeilla loaded a second rifle and propped it up behind a weapons crate that gave her a good line of sight down the hallway back to the offices. Then she picked through the armaments. What caught her eye was a shotgun with drums of shells rather than manual slotting. _A great idea!_ She grinned. The Spartan grabbed the case and a crate of shells and tossed them to Yashima along with a case of flash-bang grenades after reading the manual on them. A clear but very durable shield she decided could be handy and grabbed a pair of MBI kevlar vests, one for herself and her Sekirei.

She was about to inspect another interesting weapon when the light at the end of the hall vanished from the corner of her eye. Zeilla brought her rifle up and returned to her chosen cover to wait for ID of the figures in the hall.

As soon as the MBI soldier stepped into the garage he got a pair of bullets to the face and fell back into the hall. Immediately the soldier behind him opened up blind which forced Zeilla to duck until he paused to pick his way past the body in the doorway. She put a round in his leg, then two in his chest. She emptied the rest of the magazine down the hall and reloaded in the calm that followed.

"The jeep is loaded, sempai!"

"Great! Get over to the door and club anyone who tries to get past you, but don't get shot, okay? I'm going to try and give us an edge."

Yashima bounded over to hide beside the opening while Zeilla kept an eye on the hall. Once the Sekirei was in position she started unfastening the net like strapping that secured one pallet of crates. It just fit over the back of the jeep Yashima had packed full of boxes.

 _I really hope these things are bullet proof._


	5. Chapter IV

Chapter IV

* * *

Zeilla cringed as small arms fire pelted the jeep. The sound of bullets impacting was not something she was used to hearing so close to her. It was always plasma bolts, not bullets.

Still she kept her foot pressed to the floor and did her best not to clip the curb as she snaked through the suburbs on her way west.

"How are you doing, Yashima?"

"Scared out of my mind!" came the reply of the girl huddling in the foot well beside her. "We're so dead!"

"What are you talking about?" Zeilla grinned, flinching as another APC swung in behind them and opened up with its machine gun. "We haven't even got to the hard part yet. With those riot shields I strapped on the back of this brick we only have to worry about being shot from the front."

"So many bullets... So many bullets..."

 _Okay, perhaps I was wrong earlier. She likes fighting, not the blood, guts and the prospect of dying. After busting through the garage door with a grenade she has become a bit of a coward. Understandable I suppose - there were a lot of soldiers out there shooting at us._

Zeilla saw the roadblock ahead and swerved off the road through a park and headed south. About five kilometers later she turned west again and barreled straight for the gap between a pair of APC's blocking the end of the main street. Beyond was a bridge.

"Did you tip every single grenade out of their boxes?"

"Yes. Matsu's thing is flashing orange... What does that mean?"

"That we better time this right. Hold on!"

The soldiers suddenly realised the jeep wasn't going to stop and leapt clear just as it slammed into the noses of both APCs, forcing them aside. The jeep's tires squealed at the sudden forced deceleration before the battered vehicle lunged forward again and quickly regained its former speed. A number of jeeps and APCs giving chase had to stop for the narrow gap forced them to follow only one at a time.

"It's gone red! The thing has gone red!" Yashima cried.

"Alright, get up and smash the windshield out then crawl onto the bonnet! This is the hard bit!"

The Sekirei scuttled up into the passenger seat and punched the reinforced glass out with the sledgehammer, then carefully hauled herself out onto the front of the jeep and clung onto the dashboard as if it would save her life. After a few seconds, they roared onto the bridge itself and she got her feet under her, more comfortable with the knowledge they would be going straight across now.

The device between the seats began to honk loudly.

"What does that mean, sempai?" Yashima asked fearfully.

Suddenly a huge shaft of golden light and heat fell from the sky and sent up a huge cloud of steam as it boiled the water to their left. The laser began tracking right into their path.

"It means we're almost screwed!" Zeilla shouted back over the din, thrusting an arm out to grasp her free hand. "Get ready!"

"Its gonna hit us!"

"Steady on!"

"Sempai!"

"Just a little-"

"I don't want to lose you, master!"

The laser bit into the bridge.

"Pull!"

Yashima yanked hard and Zeilla clambered out the windscreen, then the Sekirei grabbed her around the middle and jumped.

As the laser swept across the bridge about half way across the river it engulfed their jeep. The grenades packed in between the seats and the crates stacked against the back doors were instantly detonated, creating a huge fireball as they scattered and exploded in every direction.

Yashima began to cry tears of relief as they arced through the air to freedom. "I thought we were going to die!"

"Hey, we aren't out of the woods just yet!" Zeilla reminded her. "There is another checkpoint on the other side! Are you ready for round two?"

The girl swallowed, nodded, then pushed off the ground towards the sky and rapidly approaching shore. Once in the air again they disentangled themselves and hurriedly forced their lips together.

"The hammer of my pledge, shatter the enemy of my Ashikabi!"

They separated as Yashima began to glow. The heavy Spartan landed in a roll first which allowed her to spring back into the air quickly, narrowly avoiding what befell the soldiers at the checkpoint.

As Yashima came down she stabbed the head of the sledgehammer into the ground right in the center of the checkpoint with both hands, screaming at the top of her lungs. A shockwave broke the sound barrier and hurled everything in its path several meters away. Even the relatively large tanks on either side of the road were flung like they were made of plastic rather than metal.

The Norito also had the secondary effect of giving Zeilla a boost in midair as she passed over the epicenter and thus giving Yashima the time to take flight as well and catch her Ashikabi for a safe landing.

"Nicely done!" Zeilla said, pulling the girl off the main road and into the shadows. "I could kiss you on the mouth."

Yashima took that as permission and proceeded to spend the next twenty seconds depriving them both of oxygen.

Gasping for air when the Sekirei had finally had enough Zeilla sized her by the back of her jacket and dragged her in the direction of their next destination.

"Sorry Jorge, your lines suck. I'll never use that line again."

"Sempai..." she whined.

"Ever."

* * *

They knocked twice. They waited three minutes. They knocked again. A minute later the door cracked open as far as its chain lock would permit.

"What do you want?" a male voice asked. "It's the middle of the night, damnit."

"We need to talk to Haruka Shigi. Is he home?"

The inquiry was met with silence... Then the door was slammed in their faces.

"Umm... Did Matsu get the wrong apartment number?"

Suddenly the door was flung wide open for a young man wielding a steel baseball bat to come out swinging. The pair barely dodged backwards in time and had to split up or be caught between the railing and the bat. He followed after the taller of the two with furious swings that impacted anything but their target.

Then Zeilla reached out and sized the young man's wrist. She calmly pulled the bat from him despite him snarling and cursing in an effort to break her grip and maintain his own. Disarmed, she let him go.

He backed up quickly to his apartment and Zeilla followed just out of his reach. Yashima closed in behind him just in case.

Then a blond girl appeared in the doorway with a gun in her shaking hands.

"Haruka-sama!"

"Idiot! I told you to run!"

Zeilla cleared her throat. "Would you two calm down. We aren't here to fight."

The man hissed and pointed to her chest. "We will never go back alive you MBI dogs!"

The Spartan looked at the three letters on her stolen kevlar vest and rolled her eyes. "Do you think MBI would send only two people if they were going to come after you? We stole these vests when we broke out of the city." Taking a cautious step forward she delved into her cloak and withdrew a small booklet, holding it out to the fugitive. "We came to help you."

"Matsu's fugitive guide." he read in disbelief. Looking between the three women he sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Matsu, huh... I suppose we all better go inside."

"That would be best, indeed." Zeilla agreed.

Line break

"So, after all that trouble to break free of MBI's borders you only settled in the city next door?" Zeilla asked incredulously.

Shigi and Kuno nodded uncertainly.

"A good thing it is that Matsu tracked you down before MBI. You should have run as far as possible and done what you could to move countries at least."

"My family lives close by." Shigi snapped. "I couldn't just leave them after all that time we were separated."

Zeilla snorted. "Well now you have spent time with them you should consider following Matsu's recommendations. She can only cover your arses for so long before MBI figures out what she is trying to do, finds out where you are and sends an assassin to carefully end you. If I were them I'd kill you and frame Kuno for the local police. Then I'd get her killed by planting men among the officers sent after her. It would be so easy for them it's not even funny."

Kuno gulped and tightened her grip on her Ashikabi's hand.

"She can escape normal Humans." Shigi insisted. "It's just Sekirei that are a problem for us."

"You don't think sending a member of the Discipline Squad is a possibility too? What then? A last pitiful stand? If you aren't going to run then you need to hide better than a false name." she said, turning a few pages in the booklet before slapping it back on the table in front of them. "Change your clothing style, your hair style and colour, your typical behavior. Most importantly, learn to fight properly."

"Fighting is impossible!" Kuno bawled. "I will be killed instantly-"

"There is more to fighting that clubbing someone with a bat or stabbing them with a blade." Zeilla interrupted. "Isn't that so, Yashima?"

"Hai, sempai. I've learned a lot from you already." the still bloody hammer-wielder said enthusiastically.

"Your Sekirei is a fighter, that does count!"

The Spartan huffed. "Kuno's power is her voice, correct?"

The two fugitives nodded.

"She can create incredibly strong oscillations at will without expensive technology and millions of dollars' worth of research and development. Have you not realised how much potential she has, boy? Do you know what an Earth quake is?"

"Tectonic collision." he muttered.

"Wrong. That's the cause. It is mere vibrations of a magnitude so great that the Earth itself can be reshaped because of it. Did you know that certain frequencies of sound waves can cause glass to shatter? Did you know that sound has been used in riot suppression and actually incapacitated people foolish enough to stay too close?"

Shigi stared at her slack jawed. "I never thought of that, but, she can't do those things."

Zeilla scowled. "Do you think I was born to be as strong and as clever as I am? I had to learn, train, practice and make mistakes. There are people all over the world who spend hours every day training their voices to sing. For Kuno to train her power it couldn't be easier."

Softening her voice and facing the fearful girl herself, Zeilla forced a smile to her face. "Instead of feeling like the weakest you could be among the most powerful. All you need to do is experiment with what you can do."

"But, couldn't this be dangerous?" Shigi spoke up hesitantly. "I mean, if Kuno really could break glass or whatever..."

"I suggest you devote some time to studying sound waves, and I can find some sound proofing to create a sort of test chamber. In theory at low volumes we can perfect the effect we want without huge consequences. With time and practice of control you could become deadly."

"Umm..."

Zeilla raised a brow at Kuno. "Yes?"

"Umm... How long did... Did you train for?"

She flinched. "Since I was a girl. I am now twenty-three."

Everyone sagged as if their small hope had been utterly crushed.

"Hey, relax." she sighed. "What I went through was many times more difficult than what lies before us now. Focus on your strengths first and train until you drop down in exhaustion, then think about what your weaknesses are and how to cover them up. Kuno, you need to find songs to sing to help you learn control. Shigi, you need to determine the most comfortable way to fight, then come to me and I'll help you figure out how to complement Kuno's power."

"And me, sempai?" Yashima asked with a twinkle in her eye and an excessively strong hug.

"Your fighting style is too dependent on your weapon. You should learn to use every part of your body and anything you can get your hands on."

"This is a lot to think about." Shigi said nervously, scratching the back of his head.

Zeilla snorted. "No, it's not, you just need to get into it. Let me think... First thing in the morning you can do your workouts, then have breakfast, then put your minds to the nuances of your styles and how they interact with each other to cover as much weakness as possible. After lunch repetition of everything you have learned and experimenting, possibly sparring if you feel ready for that."

"Workouts?" the three asked, clueless.

Zeilla frowned. "You have got to be kidding me..."

Shigi perked up. "Hey, what are you going to do?"

"I will be training too. I have gone too long without running through my own regime." she replied evenly before narrowing her eyes and smirking at the young man and his Sekirei. "You don't exercise? Well then, after dinner I shall have to correct this."

The pair shivered in trepidation.

* * *

One Human and two Sekirei staggered into the apartment drenched in sweat and gasping for air. One made it to a chair while the bonded pair collapsed in the middle of the floor just as Zeilla walked in, her breath already slowing.

"You did well again today, but we aren't done. Get up! Even though you pushed yourselves to your limits you still have to prepare for bed. I'm not your mother and you are old enough to take care of your selves!"

Fifteen seconds of inactivity later...

"Ah, still here? I suppose that means you want to go for another run-"

"We're going!" cried the Sekirei and they scrambled off to the shower.

Zeilla chuckled.

"What kind of monster are you?" Shigi gasped out. "Even the fitness junkie across the street can't keep up with you."

She chuckled again, dropping a towel on his head. "I have to confess I'm not used to this planet. Where I trained for most of my life the gravity was noticeably greater than here. Even before the surgery I could have done more than we are doing now. This is too easy."

"No wonder you were able to leave the city without much help. I bet you beat up even the Discipline Squad." Shigi sighed.

"No, I doubt I could."

"Huh?"

"I am still Human, less durable than Sekirei and have no power like they do. I am unlikely to defeat any of them in a straight fight."

"Then-"

"The only advantage I have is my experience in warfare and tactics. In our escape, we didn't give them time to corner us. They had to pull forces from the border to try and catch us."

They sat in contemplative silence for the next few minutes.

Yashima returned with a towel around her looking somewhat recovered thanks to the wonders of a real water shower. "The bathroom is free now."

"Off you go, shorty. I want to have a talk with Yashima."

Shigi gathered himself and lumbered out, rolling his shoulders.

"Those two have made some good progress." she said once he was out of earshot.

Yashima nodded. "Kuno is getting stronger faster than Haruka-san. I think she has about the same muscle mass as I did before we started training together."

"It must be another difference between Human and Sekirei physiology because nobody can bulk up to that from skin and bone in only two weeks. Being male is the only reason Shigi has survived training at her side this long but soon she will surpass him. I only hope she won't slack off to keep him happy."

"She won't." Yashima said firmly. "We have been talking a bit around training and she knows the best thing for her Ashikabi is for her to push herself hard."

Zeilla crossed her arms and leaned against the wall next to the door, indicating for the other to sit. "I think you have gotten used to the sledge hammer and unarmed combat now, but that is not all I have in mind for you. Tell me, what have you considered doing with your Norito if you don't have a hammer?"

"I'll use my fists and my feet!" the girl declared exuberantly.

Zeilla waited patiently with one brow raised.

"Oh! And if my opponent occupies my hands to prevent using it, I can headbutt!"

The Spartan grinned. "Good. I never even gave you a clue about that one."

Yashima grinned back at her with dreamy eyes.

"Now, I have given a lot of thought to this next idea." Zeilla continued, her tone conveying the serious nature of the topic. "Up to now I have heard nothing about your kind using more... Conventional weapons, for this day and age."

Yashima appeared confused.

The Spartan sighed and went over to watch the entrance through the small window. "Get dressed. I want to try something."

It took a few minutes for the tired alien, which Zeilla spent theorizing and checking her gear. When Yashima was ready to leave the Spartan opened the door, gesturing for her to follow.

They walked two blocks down the road to the park they often used for the passive sections of their daily routine. It was dark now so the place was devoid of sentient life.

Zeilla handed Yashima the revolver she had picked off a thug before they met. "You've seen me shoot before, right? Have a go at that trash can by the fountain."

The Sekirei took the gun carefully, surprised at is weight, then assumed the standard firing position Zeilla had used in the raid on the MBI outpost. Two hands on the weapon, one foot forward and turned about thirty-five degrees off being side on to her target. She depressed the trigger, then took the safety off and blushed sheepishly before taking aim again and firing.

The clang of impacted metal signaled a hit on the target.

"Good enough that you landed a target ten metres away for your first attempt." Zeilla said. "Now here is the real test. What do you think would happen if you used your Norito with a gun as your weapon?"

Yashima's eyes widened. "I don't know. Can we try-"

"Yes, that's why I waited for nightfall before giving you the chance."

The Sekirei made a happy noise and jumped onto her Ashikabi, wrapping her limbs around the tall woman and leaning in for a kiss. Zeilla rolled her eyes and gave in long enough to let wings burst into the darkness before shaking Yashima out of her little trance.

Sheepishly sliding off and putting a few paces between them she reassumed a firing position.

"Hammer of my pledge, shatter the enemy of my Ashikabi!" she recited, encased in a bright cyan light, then pulled the trigger. "Gravity-Hammer!"

With a sonic boom the trash can was hurled out of the park, leaving two noticeable components of a revolver and four bullet holes behind.

Yashima was left holding only half the gun. Everything forward of the hammer was ripped clean off.

 _Oh, for fuck sakes, I forgot about guns having a bloody hammer in them!_ Zeilla mentally cried and buried her face in a hand.

"Umm..."

"Don't worry about it." she sighed, adjusting her cap. "Just toss it into a bush and let's get out of here before people come to investigate."

"Sorry-"

"No, it was my fault. Come on, let's go."

Half way back to Shigi's hideout a police car rolled up next to the park, proving her case to Yashima. Zeilla then spent the rest of the walk explaining the implications of a gunshot to her and a little about the mechanics of the weapons to help her understand what happened.

"So... Instead of the bullet impacting with the effect it was the firing hammer impacting the bullet." she thought out loud as they entered the apartment.

"Yep. Looks like any impact within the aura of your Norito is magnified many times over." Zeilla carried on the train of thought. "I hate to burst your bubble but 'gravity-hammer' is an incorrect technicality... Unless this is just the most basic expression of your ability... Hmm..."

"Sempai?"

Zeilla checked that the door was locked and settled against the wall again - as was her custom with the only couch serving the others or as Yashima's bed. "I mean... Why an increase in the force of an enveloped impact? Gravity isn't like that at all. I wonder if-"

"/ /Z-tan! Z-tan! Can you hear me?/ /"

Zeilla froze as the voice exploded from her earpiece. "Matsu?"

"/ /Yes, it's me! MBI has just sent two of the Discipline Squad to your location! They detected a Norito in the area just a few minutes ago./ /"

Zeilla cursed internally. "Yeah, that was Yashima and I experimenting."

"/ /Aww, why do you experiment together but my Ashikabi flees at the mention of the word?/ /"

"That, Matsu, is because you have a mind filthier than my drill sergeant's mouth right now, and he spent two weeks decomposing before I came here. I meant actual experimenting - with her power, Matsu, not her body."

Yashima's face turned bright red.

"Matsu, where are they and what are we facing?"

The redhead shut-in cleared her throat and resumed behaving professionally. "/ /They just leapt across the bridge and are rapidly closing in on you. I can't keep track of them for much longer or MBI will spot me in their network. Both are close combat types, one unarmed, the other uses claws./ /"

"Thanks, Matsu. Good of you to use the speakers once you knew I was receiving your signal. You must have some good tech to break through MBI's communications barriers."

Matsu laughed smugly. "/ /Oh, I'm not using tech at all. Later./ /"

Zeilla filed that confusing sentence away for future pondering. More pressing matters took priority. "Yashima, get dressed. We're going to have to face a pair of Sekirei. Shigi and Kuno don't stand a chance if we don't draw them off."

Yashima merely nodded and obeyed. Zeilla was glad she had a talent for compartmentalizing, even if it allowed her to return to her lovey-dovey-clingy ways quickly. It was these moments when it paid off.

The Spartan checked her own gear, then left a note for Shigi and Kuno outlining the situation and instructing them to keep doing what they were doing. She also left them a large portion of the cash sneakily extracted from MBI to aid them.

"Zeilla-sempai, what will we do? The Discipline Squad are some of the most powerful Sekirei."

"I don't know what will work but I have some ideas." she told the teen plainly. "Just follow my lead. Keep your eyes and ears open for any signs of attack, yet appear passive - I don't want to start a fight we can't win."

Yashima gave her a solemn nod. "I've heard that these two don't play nice at all. Sekirei fights are supposed to be one on one and no Humans are to be harmed, but they gang up on anyone involved in the game."

Zeilla grit her teeth. That was bad news. "Well, let's go and meet them. Ready?"

"Yes." she whispered, holding her sledgehammer to her chest.

As quietly as possible they slipped out of the apartment and into the shadows, making their way to the park. The police had gone by then and the trash-can had been returned to its prior placement as if the large hole punched through it didn't matter. The park was empty once more until they entered it.

"I don't see anyone." Yashima whispered, sideling up to her Ashikabi.

Zeilla squinted up at the rooftops around them. Again, she wished for her helmet's capabilities.

Footsteps approached from the east, drawing their attention.

Zeilla searched and found a few blotches of grey in the darkness, which after a few paces was revealed to be a young woman clad in bandages and a tattered black robe ending just below her blue-black boots when she stepped under a street lamp. She had metal plated forearms and long shining claws on her fingers held out by her sides.

"Number one hundred and four," announced the white-haired girl with a pale face. "Haihane."

A cracking of concrete behind them spun both Zeilla and Yashima one-eighty degrees to find a pink haired girl in a crouch. This one wore a shorter robe with a large red bow under her right arm tied around her waist, shorts, red fighting gloves and boots of the same colour. This one had a vicious look on her face where as her counterpart was bored.

Pink hair stood and held her fists ready. "Number one hundred and five, Benitsubasa. We are the Discipline Squad."

Zeilla's instincts screamed at her to open up with the rifle under her cloak but her brain told her a wiser course of action. "Pleased to meet you two. I am the Ashikabi of number eighty-four Yashima." she said evenly.

Benitsubasa scowled. "Huh? Why are you being polite? We're to bring you back or kill you, don't you realise?"

"Oh, you are? You needn't have bothered as we were already on our way back from sightseeing." the Spartan ventured, not entirely sure where she was going with the idea. "Shall we return together, then?"

Benitsubasa's jaw dropped. "What kind of idiot are you?"

Haihane chuckled quietly. "You get irritated even when they are cooperative."

"Shut up." pinky snapped. "You! Why break out at all only to go back?"

"I'm finished exploring." What the hell am I doing? "Okay, let's cut the crap. You have instructions to return us to the game and we are willing to be returned."

Benitsubasa folded her arms and snorted. "Fine. Let's go."

"Wait, where's her hammer?"

Zeilla coughed. "It's big and would draw attention. I made her leave it behind."

Yashima slowly tucked the sledgehammer under her jacket. In the dimly lit park neither Sekirei noticed the motion.

Under the watchful eyes of both enforcers they started east. Zeilla's ability to traverse by rooftop surprised them but neither questioned her or made any acknowledgement of it. The Spartan half regretted revealing her strength so blatantly but she felt it was better than having Yashima carry her and risk disclosing the fact that she was armed. If things went bad she preferred to have a weapon in the girl's hands.

Besides, regardless of how easy Yashima made it look, it was awkward for someone of her size to be carried around - especially by someone in their late teens.

Eventually they managed to hide the sledgehammer under Zeilla's cloak again when they stopped and sat down in a bus shelter for a break a few blocks away from the check point they had obliterated. It was back in order now of course, so the bridge was likely cleared and repaired for civilian use. MBI worked fast.

Zeilla looked over at Benitsubasa, the more talkative of the pair. "Hey I was just wondering... You all seem to have some powerful Norito that can only be used after a recent kiss, so why send Sekirei out but not their Ashikabi? Isn't that limiting your effectiveness?"

"I could kill you instantly." #105 scoffed. "There is no need for Natsuo to come too."

"And he is too busy staring at that naked man photo he has in his wallet." Haihane snickered.

"Shut up, blue! I know he loves me!"

"It's pitiful." the goth giggled. "You are so flat, but still not flat enough to catch his homo eyes."

Benitsubasa growled and leapt to her feet. "Let get back already!" she ground out through clenched teeth.

Zeilla and Yashima shared a glance, both shocked at the revelation in their different ways. Yashima felt sympathy for the Sekirei, saddened that she would be stuck in a one-sided romance. Zeilla on the other hand was surprised at the combination of denial and persistence.

"Haihane, how do you feel about your Ashikabi?"

#104 shrugged. "He gives us the space we need to do what we want. I am disappointed, but ultimately don't care so long as he keeps his homo stuff in his room."

Benitsubasa was practically on fire with the amount of rage pouring off her. It had nothing to do with the golden glow of the rising sun either.

 _Better change topics, I think_. "What number is Karasuba?" she asked as she stood up to began walking.

There was a pregnant pause as the others stood also before Haihane answered. "Zero four, the Black Sekirei. Head of the Discipline Squad."

Zeilla filed the information away. "I met her once. Does she hate everyone or just me?"

"Everyone." the goth snickered. "She is the strongest Sekirei in the game and it annoys her that nothing can come close to a challenge for her. Natsuo said she only once had fun when she slaughtered an entire Human army."

The Spartan raised a brow. "An entire army? Impressive."

"Even more so is that she is also bigger than Benitsubasa-"

"Say another word, Haihane, and I'll make you wish it would be Karasuba killing you."

The threat had little effect as she was still snickering to herself.

 _What an interesting pair._


	6. Chapter V

Chapter V

* * *

"What the hell happened here? Are those... Trees?"

Benitsubasa started seething again. Haihane snickered at her counterpart but said nothing.

 _There were no trees of that size before. This has to be the work of number one-oh-eight, Kusano. What a great opportunity missed to covertly question Yukari. Maybe I should speak to her brother at Izumo about her character? She called him a wimp but his girlfriend is supposed to be really strong. I'm thinking both siblings are more than they let on if that really is the case. He should know enough about her to help me determine her character anyway._

Zeilla shut down her musing as they came up on the inner checkpoint of trigger happy MBI soldiers. Yashima started to get nervous while the Discipline Squad simply ignored the glares that ranged from contained terror to suppressed anger. The Spartan supposed MBI's forces were tired of being subjected to the consequences of Sekirei fights... Or perhaps they had heard of her attack on some of their own? Being a player in the game prevents them from exacting revenge it seems.

Passing through the four kept walking, until they entered an intersection and were thus off the bridge itself.

"Don't make us regret letting you live, Ashikabi." Benitsubasa growled as they halted, turning to face them. "Next time we see each other I'll be crushing your girl before your eyes."

"Beni, we should go. I need to sleep before we go to the resort." Haihane said with a yawn.

Yashima cocked her head. "Resort?"

"Yeah, MBI opened it to all game participants for today." she droned in her typically bored tone. "Besides this task last night, it's the only place we can go after Benitsubasa got us grounded."

"Haihane, we're done here." pinky snapped and leapt over a building towards the MBI tower.

"I take it her short temper is both a blessing and a curse." Zeilla ventured.

The Sekirei chuckled. "Yes. A few days ago, we were all at the health check-up and she got fired up over her small breasts because the Izumo gang were flaunting. She demolished the entire building."

 _Note to self: beware a pissed off Benitsubasa._

 _Wait..._

"Izumo gang?"

Haihane ducked her head. "Sekirei residents of Izumo, here in the north. They are her pet peeve because one of those huge breasted Sekirei threw us across the border. Beni can't stand them."

"Haihane!"

She snickered into the back of a clawed hand. "What's your name, anyway, Ashikabi?"

"Why do you ask?" Zeilla asked cautiously.

"Because I like knowing things Beni doesn't." came the slightly malicious response.

 _I think I know why these two are kept together._ "Zeilla."

Haihane grinned. "I don't know why but I'm starting to like you. You seem like you will do something interesting. Karasuba thinks so too."

"Haihane!"

The Blue Sekirei stared at her a moment longer before turning to follow her counterpart.

 _'Do something interesting', eh?_ "We will have to be on guard at all times from now on, Yashima."

"Sempai?"

Zeilla's lip twitched at the word. "I would prefer you stop calling me things like that, if you don't mind. I have a name and you are free to use it."

Yashima looked down at her feet. "But... You're my senior so it would be rude of me... And... I really want to honour you."

"Shit- erm... Geez, you need to chill out, Yashima. I'm a Human being, not God." the Spartan muttered, exasperated. "What do Matsu and Yukari call me?"

"Z-chan."

"After talking to Shigi I've figured out what that means. It's a nickname implying familiarity or friendship, right? I've never had a friend before but I'd say that's what we are. Although in our case it's a little more binding than that. How about you just call me Z-chan or Zeilla?"

The Sekirei squirmed a little at being put on the spot. "Um... Z-sama... Perhaps?"

Zeilla rolled her eyes. "Pick a tag I haven't figured out yet why don't you. Alright, Z-sama, fine."

Yashima brightened a little.

If this is what it's like to deal with children I am so glad I can't have any.

"Anyway, lets head over to Izumo. I have a theory I want to share with Matsu."

"/ /A theory? Shall we test it together?/ /"

"Matsu?!" both exclaimed in surprise.

"/ /Come on, what's the theory?/ /"

Zeilla composed herself and pulled her Sekirei along towards Izumo Inn. "Matsu, its rude to eavesdrop like that."

"/ /I wasn't doing it for long. I was just curious about why the Blue Sekirei was hanging around you after Red left. So, what's this theory of yours?/ /"

"Something for the security of your lair - no, get your mind out of the gutter."

"/ /Z-tan, you're no fun. Don't you get tired of acting professional all the time? Life is too short to be boring!/ /"

Yashima looked up at her expectantly.

She didn't answer until after they had leapt up onto the rooftops "I am a soldier, remember? I have been since I joined the Spartan program as a child so I don't get tired of being my usual self."

"/ /Ah, so you don't know how to be normal./ /" Matsu responded with a touch of mischief in her voice. "/ /Perfect timing. An MBI resort is open to all Ashikabi and their Sekirei today. A beach, baths, food, a fancy bar - all free. You need it, Z-tan./ /"

"I don't want to go to an MBI facility. They'll probably use this to gather information on all the Ashikabi."

"/ /They had you for a few hours after the mutagen, remember?/ /"

"No reason to give them another chance."

"/ /You can gather your own intelligence while you're there./ /"

"A fair point but not enough of a reason."

"Umm... Z-sama? Can we go?"

Zeilla paused on the building across the street from Izumo and looked at the girl. She seemed hopeful under all her shyness at asking.

 _I forgot, she isn't adjusted to my lifestyle_.

The Spartan sighed. "Alright, we'll go."

"Thank you, Z-sama!"

"/ /Yes!/ /"

"I'm only doing this for Yashima, Matsu, so you are going to make it up to me later." Zeilla whispered into the mic as her Sekirei trapped her in a hug.

"/ /We shall negotiate later./ /" the redhead agreed. "/ /Drop by in a minute and I'll get you a map with directions./ /"

The Spartan ruffled Yashima's hair through her cap and managed to dislodge her. "Why not travel together? Safety in numbers until at the neutral grounds of the resort."

"/ /Because I'm going with my Ashikabi and his rather boisterous other three Sekirei. You would bring too much to their awareness they aren't ready for... And you'd also probably scare the crap out of him./ /"

Zeilla frowned. "I'm not scary without my armour."

"/ /You are almost seven-foot-tall and rippling with muscle. My Ashikabi is a wimp who can't even stop a zealot, a simpleton or a child from causing chaos in their competition to offer their affections. Trust me, you'd break him just by the aura of strength you ooze from every pore./ /"

"I ooze?"

"/ /Oh, just come get the map and go already! And try not to wake everyone up./ /"

"Be right there-"

"/ /And make sure you greet Miya before she appears! I don't want to die of terror yet!/ /"

* * *

A silver haired effeminate figure was walking slowly ahead of Zeilla and Yashima. It was obvious where he was going, yet he seemed hesitant to actually arrive. It wasn't long before they caught up to him which startled the one Zeilla now recognised as Kagari.

"Oh, hello." he stammered.

Zeilla raised a brow. "You look troubled. Something the matter?"

Kagari shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"Well, if you walk any slower then it will be evening before you even arrive. Matsu tells me there is plenty there to help you relax."

"Is that why you are going?" he asked curiously.

"Yashima needs the break, not me. I relax my mind through training and my body through sleep."

"I see. What about your spirit?"

Zeilla did a double take.

"Three parts to a person." Kagari elaborated. "Mind, body and spirit."

Zeilla snorted. "I am a Spartan."

"I'm not sure what that means, exactly." he confessed after a moment.

"My spirit is fed by my success and goaded by failure. Nothing will ever deter me from my given or invented objectives. In the face of genocidal annihilation that is what I am to be: unrelenting." she rambled. "This world is... Far too easy."

Kagari shook his head and sighed. "What sane person would call this game easy?"

"I never claimed to be sane, Kagari." Zeilla smirked, keeping her eyes on their surroundings diligently. "I'm a Spartan, after all."

He shook his head again but couldn't hide his smile.

Yashima made an inquisitive noise. "Kagari-san, why is your shirt-"

The man raised a hand and it burst into flame as he leveled a deadly glare at both of them. "Not a word to anyone." he hissed.

Yashima paled and moved to put her Ashikabi between them.

"Somehow I suspect if I knew the whole story I would wish to forget it." Zeilla said quietly.

"Blame Minaka." Kagari spat. "Anyway, why are you two so late?"

"I slept in." Yashima confessed sheepishly.

They walked slowly together in silence for a few minutes, then something occurred to the Spartan.

"So, did your Ashikabi go on ahead of you?"

The Sekirei flinched. "I am unwinged." he said darkly. "I was invited along by Matsu's Ashikabi."

"I see."

"No, you don't really." he countered. "Most Sekirei and Ashikabi can detect the difference between Humans and Ashikabi, and between winged and unwinged Sekirei. For some reason, you are as clueless as any normal Human."

"Z-sama isn't clueless!" Yashima snapped, still half hiding behind the Spartan. "She is smart and strong and very good at fighting!"

Zeilla pushed the girl's cap down over her eyes. "He has a point, Yashima. I couldn't tell that Yukari and Shiina were anything special and the only reason I know Matsu and Kagari are Sekirei is because they told me themselves."

"The man who attacked Yashima the night that you found her was a potential Ashikabi too." Kagari added. "Fortunately, at that stage unwinged Sekirei were getting harder to find so he didn't do any damage. You have a bit of luck on your side, Zeilla, but you need to work on your Ashikabi instincts. It will help you grow a stronger bond with your Sekirei."

The Spartan narrowed her eyes. "Why are you giving me advice?"

"Because you need it." he said, looking away at the scenery.

 _Nobody ever does anything for free._ She thought. _What's his angle?_

Suddenly he stopped walking and waved them on ahead. "Well, if you want to find me later I'll be at the bar, charming the ladies."

Zeilla raised a brow. "Later."

 _Did he say what I think he said? Bah, Zeilla, you're getting confused by all this civilian crap._

Seeing the resort gates were close enough to read the signage on she picked up the pace and shook Yashima by the shoulder. "Come on, help me pick out a quiet place to train before you run off and play, okay?"

"Sure!"

* * *

Zeilla wished she had tried to learn Japanese during the two weeks on the outside with Kuno and Shigi. The headset Matsu made her couldn't translate written words - or in this case, symbols. Maybe a general crash course on the culture was in order too. Yashima had said something to the effect of modesty was less important among men and women when the other sex was not around when she had insisted on washing Zeilla's back for her.

Besides being unfamiliar with a water shower the Spartan didn't need any help, to Yashima's disappointment. This led her to believe that sharing such tasks was a bonding thing between female friends.

Currently Zeilla was attempting to memorise the symbols on the sign so that she didn't get lost... Again. Easier said than done.

While she was tracing over the lines with a finger someone came up beside her.

"Wow! They even have open air baths here!"

Zeilla looked at the young woman. "Going?"

"Yes!" She bounced on her toes, resulting in the same of her ample bust, then hurried off in the direction the sign indicated.

Zeilla followed.

 _This is practically the fiftieth woman I've seen today alone with large breasts. Do civilians all go and get surgery or something? Or is this a feature of some Sekirei? How are they supposed to fight if their tits keep getting in the way? Bah, this world is insane._

The young brunette ran ahead and passed through a curtain. As Zeilla was following at a walk she spotted a familiar looking girl go in after the busty Sekirei.

 _Yukari?_

Then another person she had met before parted the curtain.

Zeilla herself entered and passed through the intermediate room to find Yukari fondling the busty brunette from behind. Unaware they were being observed both started laughing nervously and uncontrollably.

"I'm in culture-shock city." she thought aloud.

Karasuba appraised her out of the corner of one eye. "Soldiers of your culture do not behave like this, I take it."

"Nope. The military is a male dominated sector so those women who manage to make it through training are usually the toughest and put even some men to shame. They have to be in order to succeed. The Spartan program had more women but the culture was the same."

The Black Sekirei raised a brow. "I have only ever seen one nations soldiers and tasted nothing but fear in the air."

Zeilla snorted. "Human nature, Karasuba. Against the unknown we feel fear. Some people can push past it, some ignore it, some are defeated by it."

The Sekirei was quiet for a moment while they watched Yukari and the brunette fooling around in the bath.

"Which are you, Human?"

"Fear is an important feeling." the Spartan began. "The subconscious is more perceptive and its sometimes your only warning that something isn't right. Heeding such warnings as one moves forward can help one survive when others do not."

Looking at Karasuba she smirked as a thought occurred to her. "Fear is not something you are familiar with, is it? Someone as powerful as you surrounded by weak creatures has little to fear."

Karasuba snorted and left the open-air partition but Zeilla matched her pace easily with her longer strides.

"In the world I come from, I stand superior to Humans. Like you. There were rebel groups and terrorists attempting to forcibly restructure Humanity's government and military. I was one of those sent against them and easily destroyed them where ever they hid. In those days, fear was limited to a target escaping or accidently killing an innocent hostage."

The Sekirei did not respond so she continued.

"However, Humans were but one species among several in the galaxy, alone for only so long before first contact. We found a united force so vast and so advanced we were humbled." Zeilla chuckled. "We should have paid more attention to our fear. Violence broke out and we found ourselves on the losing side of an extermination campaign. Can you imagine how we Spartans felt going from the towering symbols of Human strength to an undersized barbeque plater before aliens more powerful in every way?"

Karasuba remained silent and they kept walking.

"The elites stood head and shoulders above me while hunched over in a combat stance. The brutes were even taller and far stronger. If an elite could pick us up with one hand, then a brute could hurl a Spartan as an afterthought. Normal Humans became mere bugs to be crushed in their eyes. We Spartans were an abomination of nature and for striking down so many of their number we lost a great many Spartans who were still in training. Like infants slaughtered in their sleep."

That comment got a reaction. The Sekirei clenched her fists.

 _Curious._

"Now I don't know how it is I escaped certain death - though I was willing to die for my people - and landed here, but I'm sure there is an answer." Zeilla told her cautiously. "If I knew how to I would return and fight in the largest battles anyone could imagine against a foe I can barely hope to defeat."

Karasuba halted and turned to face her lazily. She could see the fire in her eyes however.

"Putting Matsu's work to good use, I see." she drawled, nodding to the headset. "Why are you telling me this?"

Zeilla shrugged. "I just felt like sharing, warrior to warrior, about a grand fight across the stars. It's not like anyone has the means to reverse engineer the means by which I arrived so that the phenomena could be recreated or even reversed." she uttered with measured distain.

The women stared each other down for what felt like an eternity before breaking eye contact at the same time, Zeilla turning back to the open-air bath and Karasuba resuming her previous journey.

Neither saw the others excited grin.

The Spartan found her way back to the open-air bath easily enough, hoping its current quiet would give her the mental space to formulate some plans for the future, regardless of the results of the little seed she had just planted.

She parted the curtain to find the brunette had gone, thus the quiet.

"Woah, Z-chan! Long time no see!"

"Hello, Yukari." Zeilla greeting with a nod as she got into the bath. "I spent two weeks training Yashima how to fight properly. How are you and Shiina doing? Found Kusano yet?"

Yukari pouted. "No. Its pissing me off."

"...SLAUGHTERED!"

Both jumped at the furious roar.

"Was that... Benitsubasa?"

"Who?"

"EXTREME QUAKE!"

The earth rumbled.

Zeilla grabbed Yukari by her waist and tossed her over one shoulder and jumped out of the bath just as the ground shook and cracked, spilling dust into the air and liquefaction into the water. She then put the girl down in the doorway, pushed her to a crouch and covered her with her own body as the building collapsed in on itself.

After a minute of quiet and stillness they stood to find the bath house reduced to rubble. Small dust clouds erupted where Sekirei began busting through to freedom.

Aside from a sore shoulder when the doorway collapsed and being covered in dust Zeilla was unharmed.

"Are you alright, Yukari?"

"What the hell was that?" Yukari coughed.

Zeilla played back the seconds before the event in her mind. "That, I suspect, was the short temper of one-oh-five, Benitsubasa."

"Holy... Wait, where's Shiina? Shiina! Are you okay?"

Zeilla zeroed in on a hesitant cough and found the male Sekirei covering his eyes with one hand and his modesty with a cloth.

"Umm... What are we going to do now?" he asked nervously.

"Relax, the shower block by the beach is far enough away it should have survived." Zeilla told him. "I'm betting that the staff will usher everyone there to wash up before resorting to other parts of the facility to entertain the population."

"Resorting in a resort." Yukari snickered.

"I'm glad you can find this funny, Yukari, considering your Sekirei is stark naked and males are in short supply in this place." Zeilla chuckled.

Yukari turned red. "We're naked too." she spluttered.

"So are the female Sekirei. Lucky Shiina."

The girl reddened further.

Zeilla ruffled her hair with a smirk at the small dust cloud. "Relax. Let's just grab our bath robes and dust them off as best we can so Shiina can open his eyes and do the same. Then we can search the rubble for our stuff, okay?"

Yukari nodded. "Why did this have to happen? The day was so nice too."

Zeilla kept her theories to herself.

* * *

Clean and dressed in a new robe Zeilla entered the resort bar near the beach. A few males were around the tables and one or two females. Kagari was sitting in a corner at the back by himself, dressed in his own clothes. Evidently, he hadn't made it to the baths before the induced quake.

Zeilla sat down across from him. "I'll admit I never thought of you as the bar-type, Kagari."

He shrugged. "I work as a host so bars are familiar places for me, even if I'm not in character."

"I won't bother asking what that is-"

"Basically, I offer companionship."

Zeilla paused. "That's why I didn't bother asking."

"Wait, don't misunderstand." Kagari hurriedly added. "I spend time with women for a fee but nothing untoward happens - that's not what my agency is for."

"Again, I don't know what goes and what doesn't in your culture."

The man sagged into his chair and sipped his beer. "I'm not a whore, I'm a companion."

"And that makes the conversation cleaner?" she asked jokingly.

"You're teasing me, aren't you?"

"Maybe. I'm still learning how to act around civilians... Teasing insinuation seems to come easily to me... And I was working my way up to forcing you to read me the menu." she admitted after feeling sorry for putting him on the spot before.

He glared at her accusingly, then took out a cigarette and lit it with a small flame from one finger.

"I bet that trick is a hit with the ladies." Zeilla deadpanned.

"Shut up or I'll fry you." he mumbled halfheartedly around his cigarette, picking up the menu. "You drink often?"

Zeilla sighed. "I went out with a bunch of other Spartan trainees a few times but found the whole atmosphere repulsive, to be honest. I hope they have something non-alcoholic."

"Soda or fake beer?"

"Beer tastes like shit."

Kagari raised a brow and smirked. "Soda it is." he agreed and headed to the bar.

While she waited Zeilla wondered what Yashima was doing.

She had told the girl to do whatever she wanted for the whole day, thinking that she might want to catch up with any friends in attendance. At first Yashima was reluctant to leave her side - in that slightly endearing, shy way of hers - but the monotony of the Spartan's usual routine shooed her off eventually. After not seeing her Sekirei since Zeilla had to admit she was starting to notice how used to having the teen around she had become. That's part of why she took up Kagari's veiled offer of a drink.

Well, mostly it was curiosity mixed with new found loneliness. B-312 would be disappointed, but Zeilla recognised she had changed - no small part due to a certain clingy alien.

Kagari was a male Sekirei without an Ashikabi and had told her where she could find him if she wished. Zeilla considered that to mean he wanted her to find him. The thought that he might be considering her did cross her mind but she almost ruled out that possibility. He was a guardian of his people so he must be making sure Yashima found herself a decent Ashikabi.

The Sekirei returned rather promptly with their beverages, breaking the Spartan from her musings.

"Your soda, milady." he said with a slight bow as he presented her a large pitcher of dark bubbly liquid. "An American drink called Coca-Cola, I believe."

Zeilla blinked twice before accepting it. "Sekirei sized, huh?"

"Very astute." Kagari smiled and reclaimed his seat with a fluid grace she found unnerving. "A woman of your appetite would not be satisfied with less."

The Spartan narrowed her eyes. "What's with the act?"

He chuckled and relaxed, taking a short drag before snuffing out the butt. "I was curious to see what you would do. Most women I encounter like to be made to feel special so I cater to that. Usually they are rich and foolish, but occasionally I get a lower-class lady who loves the uncommon attention."

"Never dealt with a soldier before?" Zeilla asked, sipping her soda experimentally.

Kagari wrinkled his nose. "Once. She was convinced the agency was using the host business as a front and wanted a different kind of attention."

Zeilla gasped indignantly. "With that being your only experience of a soldier you still wanted to try your crap on me? I don't know if I should be offended or simply set Matsu on your sorry arse."

"Matsu knows better." he smirked for a moment, then concern washed over his face. "Are you offended?"

"I'm a Spartan, I don't get offended." she replied stonily and tried the soda again.

Kagari seemed to relax at that.

"I did a little research, by the way." he began slowly, idly swirling his own beverage. "Thousands of years ago, there was a people group who invaded a rich agricultural region surrounded by mountains and treacherous terrain. These people enslaved the inhabitants and established a formidable warrior culture, calling their city state Sparta."

Zeilla raised a brow. "Our worlds share some history. The Spartans were arguably the best warriors and soldiers of their time. In one battle a mere three hundred of them held off an entire invading army, to the death, to enable the rest of Sparta time to gather."

"The name of your special forces division... Is that what you were to be for your people?"

Zeilla shrugged. "At first it was just because the Spartans were elite fighters among their fellow Greeks. Ironically, we often end up reenacting the sacrifice of those three hundred men against the Covenant. Personally, I don't care if I die after I've accomplished my mission or the next best thing. Surviving is a useful talent of mine but it's getting old."

Kagari looked thoughtful as he swirled his glass, for a few moments of silence between them. Then he knocked it back and cursed under his breath.

"Nothing at all." he spat angrily. "Every time... Damn you, Minaka."

Zeilla observed his display with suspicious thoughts forming in her head. "Problem?"

Kagari sighed. "I was looking for even the faintest sign that I was reacting to you, Zeilla. Just like everyone else though I got absolutely nothing!" he snapped, thumping his free hand down on the table for emphasis. "You are an Ashikabi and you already have one Sekirei who has reacted to you, but you're still not strong enough."

 _So, that's what this was about._

Running a hand through his hair the Sekirei slouched in his chair. "I admire many things about you and still nothing. I don't even feel warmth from the alcohol."

"Finding your Ashikabi must be a big deal." she said, well aware of how inadequate her words were but unable to come up with something comforting.

He nodded anyway. "Sekirei are more powerful once winged and with a reason to fight beyond themselves they become utterly determined to win. Yes, it is a big deal for some." he paused to refill his glass from the bottle between them and took a sip before speaking again. "For me there are a few extra catches. I am as strong as I would be with my wings but my power is... Unstable. It could abandon me if I push for too much or end up overwhelming me all together." He took a sip and sighed. "The only corrective method I haven't tried yet is being winged to my Ashikabi." he muttered into his glass and drained it a little more.

Zeilla's brow furrowed in thought. "Have you considered you may have been looking in the wrong place? Those who pay for your time are a minority of the population. Your Ashikabi could be someone ordinary."

"Or someone weird. Or someone terrible." Kagari countered bitterly, refilling his glass again. "I have seen enough examples of bad Ashikabi to know I want nothing to do with them at all. I'd rather do without than become some possession."

Zeilla made an affirmative sound through her soda. "This might be incorrect, but... Male Sekirei are few, while females are abundant... So perhaps the inverse is so of the Ashikabi?"

"It shouldn't be. The source of Ashikabi DNA is far broader than the hundred and eight Sekirei Minaka is toying with. Their strength and power aren't enough to make me react if I have encountered any."

"And I'm assuming a male Ashikabi is out of the question."

Kagari glared daggers at her.

Zeilla rested her chin on a fist propped up on the table. "Guess you have to go without in the interim. Try not to push your power too far and hope for the best. Fight smarter than your opponents to ensure you never need to dig so deep, keep a low profile... Get Matsu to hack medical records for civilians to find Ashikabi markers in any DNA samples? It's definitely not going to be easy if other Sekirei can tell what you are."

The silver haired man sighed and knocked back yet another glass. "I know all this... But thanks for trying to help."

"We can't have the Sekirei guardian unable to do his duty, now can we?" she shrugged. Then she noticed the watch he was wearing and the position of the hands. "I think I'm going to look for Yashima. You better watch how much you are drinking because I don't think you want to be carried back by someone like Matsu."

Kagari snorted and held the bottle up to the light. "I can't get that drunk on one bottle. Go on, leave me to drown my sorrows."

Zeilla scowled. "Instead of drink you should use other things to unwind or work through demons. Take a jog around the place or walk along the beach."

"I don't know what you saw earlier on the road here but there is something wrong with me. Go on." he insisted. "Let a defective alien have some peace to sulk."

"Sulk or soak?"

Kagari let out a hollow chuckle. "I'll be fine. Go find your understudy."

She watched him knock back yet another glass, then chugged down the remaining half of her soda and stood.

"Hey, Zeilla... About what you said earlier... I don't know what objective you have set for yourself but... Don't die, alright?"

She snorted. "I have to be a role model now, thanks to Minaka. As long as I have to take care of Yashima then I won't be giving in to death."

Kagari looked hopeful for a moment, then muttered into his glass and found it empty.

Zeilla chuckled. "Also, Spartans never die."

He raised his gaze to her in confusion. Then as she turned away and headed for the door she threw him a hard look.

"Spartans just go MIA."


	7. Chapter VI

Chapter VI

* * *

Having tracked down Yukari and then their Sekirei Zeilla ended up spending the night in the student's flat again. A wave of deja vu hit her upon waking to the weight of Yashima on her chest making soft noises of content.

Looking around it seemed Yukari was faring a little better, but not much. Shiina had managed to steal all the duvet after he had snuck into her bed with her. On second thought, perhaps it was Shiina who was worse off as Yukari had wrapped herself around his cocoon for warmth.

 _I wonder how they'll get out of this predicament_.

As if her mind had called it forth Shiina groaned about heat and needing water then began shuffling about in an attempt to escape the duvet. Yukari clinging to him through it made that more difficult, to the point that both ended tumbling to the floor.

 _Thank whatever for Sekirei resilience, Shiina just faceplanted._

The thud woke Yashima and the fall woke Yukari. The former observed with Zeilla as the latter proceeded to panic at the possibility Shiina was hurt and showered him with questions or apologies. The Sekirei himself was fine but feeling awkward about her attention. He cleverly shifted the topic to the hunt for Kusano and let Yukari get pumped up about 'today being the day'.

You could feel the relief flooding off him when his Ashikabi finally hurried off to prepare breakfast.

 _Note to self: keep Matsu and Yukari away from each other._

Yashima picked herself off her own Ashikabi and went to help while Shiina splashed water on his face in the bathroom. Zeilla took the opportunity of an empty room to try moving with Yashima's giant hammer. She concluded that it was best not to have to use it in battle if at all possible. A Sekirei would just be too fast for her to connect with. Yashima was the only person for such a weapon.

"Hey, Z-chan?"

Zeilla carefully put the hammer down and faced the speaker in the door way.

"Yashima said you were training her while you were gone." Yukari began hesitantly, one hand on her hip and the other scratching the back of her head. "I was wondering if you could do a little with Shiina too - s-so he doesn't get hurt fighting another Sekirei."

Zeilla hummed. "I can, but it's a time-consuming task and the search for Kusano currently takes up most of that."

Yukari laughed nervously. "Yeah... Well... We can't do that the whole day so perhaps after lunch we could do something before looking around some more?"

"I could evaluate his abilities at least." she agreed.

"Thanks, Z-chan." the girl smiled, then returned to the kitchen.

With that Shiina emerged from the bathroom quietly.

"She has so much energy." Zeilla commented to him.

He nodded. "It's good that you and Yashima are here again. I'm a terrible cook. They always have a lot of fun as both are energetic."

"Yashima is a Sekirei. Yukari is just one of those people who can't contain themselves for long. Does it ever get too much for you? Her doting on you every minute of the day?"

Shiina shook his head. "I want to spend eternity with her, but I know I can't be all she needs. I'm not as useful as other Sekirei are to their Ashikabi because of my power."

Zeilla tilted her head to one side in silent query.

"I suppose you could call it Entropy, or Death." he continued hesitantly. "I can control it, but it's like a switch: on or off. Without my power, I'm just like a Human."

Zeilla clapped her hands together and grinned. "That is something I know how to fix. I'll train you to fight without your power so you can learn to expand your skills. First, let's see to dressing and eating. Eat plenty because it could be a long day if Yukari has her way."

Shiina nodded, a little fearful of what may come.

* * *

About three hours into the search Yukari had single handedly beaten up, scared off or knocked out a number of Humans. Shiina had only incapacitated one Sekirei so far. Twice Sekirei teams of two in the east of the city had attacked them, one targeting Yukari and Shiina on the ground, the other targeting Yashima and Zeilla on the rooftops, but fortunately the immediate arrival of the accompanying Ashikabi-Sekirei pair was enough to shoo them away.

Clearly some Sekirei were not willing to risk defeat by facing a Sekirei with their Ashikabi on hand - something Zeilla noted with interest.

"How does she keep dragging Shiina around?" Yashima groaned. "I'm bored already."

"Shiina wants to reunite with Kusano and Yukari is obsessed with Shiina." Zeilla replied.

 _Now I have seen it for myself, I think I understand. With all the Sekirei she must have spared that girl can't be trying to kill Kusano - it wouldn't make sense at all. Nor would our strange alliance for that matter. Yukari isn't interested in playing the game._

A target arrived on Yukari's radar so the party halted again. Zeilla peeked over the guttering on a squat office block, watching as Shiina and his Ashikabi herded a man to the back of the alley he was loitering in.

As usual Yukari opened up with Kusano's description in a tone that dared the man to respond to the negative. Their target in the grey hoodie did just that, as usual, but he didn't appear intimidated in the slightest. In fact, he didn't even seem to care about the pot of frustration boiling over in front of him. Yukari interrogated him for a while and he offered money freely if they wanted to rob him.

As usual Yukari took that as an insult and promptly - and with considerable force - landed the toe of her boot into the seat of his sweat pants.

As usual her latest victim collapsed and Shiina flinched in sympathy.

Yashima puffed out a breath. "Boring."

"Alright then, my turn to plant the note." Zeilla decided, kneeling down to start lowering herself down into the alley. "You keep on our friends and watch for anything at all that could be a threat. While I'm gone, you can come up with a better way to go about this for Yukari."

"Yes, Z-sama. I'll try to stay up high so you can find us easily again." she said, then leapt away.

Zeilla slipped over the edge and hung off the guttering for a moment, then tucked a leg up and kicked off the wall into the exterior of the taller opposing building. She rebounded her way to street level and cautiously approached the man as he lay where he'd fallen.

Unexpectedly he rolled over and wriggled to sit against the office building wall.

"Damn, that was a low blow. I bet she has steel-toes in her boots." he wheezed.

Zeilla blinked. "You would be right."

The man chuckled, tugged off his hoodie and proceeded to brush off the dirt. "Surprised me that she didn't even try to wing me while I was down. I suppose she's the loyal-type with that boy at her heel. Who would have thought the first Sekirei I bump into would be another male, huh?"

The Spartan's eyes widened under her hood. "You are a Sekirei too?"

Mister unnamed alien looked up at her with surprise in his plain brown eyes - the same colour as his slicked back hair and his creased shirt. "And you didn't know just looking at me. Tells me you aren't much of an Ashikabi." He replied. "I was sure you had seen her leave and were going to do what she neglected to. Almost. After that girl, I'm not so sure of my thoughts on Ashikabi. Where is your Sekirei, huh? You got a guy too or one of the girls?"

Zeilla frowned. "She is following your attackers, our friends."

"Friends?" he echoed. "Yeah, okay. I know nothing, huh."

The man got to his feet and pulled his hoodie back on before brushing off his brown sweat pants. Stepping towards her he peered into the shadow of her own hood, then slowly reached up and pushed it back to reveal her face. Zeilla was too busy considering his actions for signs of attack to bother stopping him.

"Wow, you aren't Japanese. Surprising." he said quietly. "You speak the language very well. Where are you from, before being trapped in this game?"

The Spartan blinked, unnerved by his curiosity. "Classified ONI information."

He seemed to roll the thought around in his head for a moment. "Hm, classified... A foreign soldier? You must be decent then, soldiers are responsible and disciplined people with a reasonable sense of justice."

Then without any warning he kissed her.

Technically.

He didn't make a scene. The male Sekirei pressed his lips to hers and stuck his tongue into her mouth. Just as quickly he retreated and watched over his shoulder as silvery wings exploded from his back. After the light show he felt around at the nape of his neck and shrugged.

"Huh, pretty. Well... I - number fifty, Yuuma - am your Sekirei. Now and for many years to come." he recited, boredom creeping into his voice. "I admit I kinda thought there would be more of a bang. The girls really hyped this up back at MBI and my adjuster thought it was terribly romantic. Women, huh?"

After a moment, he looked away and scratched his chin. "Ah, that was rude. Sorry."

Zeilla shut her jaw and raised her hood again. "Somehow, I don't feel like you really mean anything you say." she muttered, trying to get the taste of something bitter out of her mouth.

He nodded, then looked back at her sheepishly. "Oops, forgot to pop a mint first. I bet you're discovering my protein shake from breakfast a few minutes ago."

"Do you Sekirei ever think about asking for permission before doing that?" she asked darkly, his careless attitude getting on her nerves.

"Don't have a clue. I just thought it was better to wing myself to you than keep hiding until someone else finds me, seeing as you didn't take advantage of me when you had the chance. Figured you would be a safe choice. I had heard stories about mind numbing reactions leading to a trance-like state before I was released." he told her.

Zeilla sighed. "That's how it happened with Yashima."

Yuuma brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Hm... Anyway, I've caused you a bit of trouble with this incident, haven't I? Shall I follow you or would it be easier if we just acted like it never happened?"

"What were you doing before getting kicked in the balls?"

He shrugged. "Working out at the gym I sleep behind, trying not to get mugged, trying not to get arrested, trying not to get spotted by a Sekirei or an Ashikabi... You know, generally keeping my head down and hoping the game would leave me behind."

The Spartan scowled. "Wasting your life?"

"You spotted it earlier: I actually don't care about the Sekirei project at all, or anything...else..." he trailed off, looking thoughtful. "I take it back. I just realise I kinda do care about you."

 _Huh, must be a because of the bond we have now._

"Huh, must be because I'm now bonded to you." he echoed her thoughts unwittingly. He stood up straight and tried to snap off a salute. "I will follow you anywhere, my Ashikabi-san. Lead on."

Zeilla resisted the urge to sooth the throb growing between her temples. "Hooray." she muttered under her breath. "Alright then, help me up to a tall building so we can look for Yashima."

Yuuma abruptly swept her off her feet bridal-style and hopped up onto the squat office block, then launched them high into the air.

 _Just when I was settling in to this crazy world._ Zeilla cringed inwardly as she scanned the area for her first Sekirei. _Damn_ _it_.

In less than a minute they were atop a high-rise apartment building near the borders of the south and west in the CBD. Zeilla, after making Yuuma put her down had only been looking around for a few seconds when she noticed a black humanoid shape bouncing hurriedly across the city toward them.

"Looks like she's well aware of what happened." Yuuma said, still sounding hollowly polite.

Zeilla wasn't sure how the girl was going to take the news, but given her flight over many a roof... The Spartan was not optimistic. "If she is pissed I'm blaming you." she advised him as Yashima began her last leap.

Yuuma shrugged dismissively. "As you wish, Ashikabi-san."

"The name is Zeilla."

"I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you..."

"... But we are both aware that would be bull shit."

He made an amused sound as Yashima landed and bent over to catch her breath.

"Z-sama... I felt... Did... You... He... Umm...?"

"He winged himself." Zeilla told her straight.

The girl dropped to her knees. "I was... hoping I... wouldn't have... t-to s-share." she whimpered.

 _Great, she's crushed._ Zeilla scowled. _I don't need this crap. Screw you, Minaka, and your fucking game._

"Sorry." the culprit offered halfheartedly. "I'm number fifty, Yuuma."

"Why are you trying to take Z-sama away from me?" Yashima snapped with tears flowing freely, gripping her sledgehammer tightly as she used it to stand up. "Just because you're a rare male in the game doesn't mean you have to steal my Ashikabi!"

"I'm not stealing her." Yuuma replied, disinterested already. "While technically both of us are sharing, I don't care if you have Zeilla-san all to yourself."

Yashima balked at him. "How can you even say that? You- you... You weren't reacting to her? You don't love her?"

Yuuma hesitated. "No to the first... And... I'm not sure."

"Bastard!" #84 gasped. "She's mine! You can't have her!"

Zeilla stepped between the aliens and let her annoyance be known. "I won't have you fighting over me. I'm a Spartan not your crush, so quit squabbling like a pair of teenagers."

Yashima looked heartbroken and fell on her knees again.

"Zeilla, sorry to say this but it's clear that Yashima is absolutely besotted with you." Yuuma snickered. "If you were better at picking up on your Ashikabi instincts then you would have noticed. That and we are teenagers. I'll be twenty by the end of the week."

"You... Don't love me?"

The Spartan cringed and hauled the girl up into a hug. "Yuuma, this is your fault so you have to come up with a way to appologise to her, meaningfully."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yashima, I'm a Spartan: emotions weren't a huge focus in my life until we met and you started bringing them to my mind in every waking hour. I don't understand feelings such as love."

"I know, but I hoped." #84 sobbed into her neck.

"I acknowledge how you feel now that I'm aware." Zeilla continued softly. "However, now is not the time to deal with this. It's something we all need to think about over time. Can you hold yourself together and from attacking Yuuma until we can discuss things properly?"

Yashima sniffed but nodded. "I'll do anything you ask, Z-sama. Please ... Just hold me."

"Lead us back to Yukari and Shiina and I'll carry you all day." Zeilla promised, hoping she wasn't going to regret it.

Yuuma made an amused noise. "Girls are so mushy." he snickered.

"That reminds me, Yuuma." she began, turning to glare at him from under her hood. "Yukari is letting me stay at her place so you had better be on your best behavior. I will not stand between you two if you irritate our volatile hostess."

The male swallowed. "I'll do my best, Zeilla-san."

Nodding in acceptance Zeilla dislodged Yashima and they set off to the north east along the northern border. For a time Yashima had to help her Ashikabi with the variable heights of the buildings and it was clear the girl was choosing a path for this reason. Fortunately, Yuuma did not mention this. Zeilla was split between pushing the matter aside and examining it as they traveled so it came as a surprise when Yashima stepped off a low roof rather than leaping. Looking down she saw they had caught up.

Yukari turned around as they landed heavily behind her. She was annoyed but that expression changed when Yuuma dropped in beside his Ashikabi who Yashima embraced desperately. She squinted at him with suspicion for a full minute, throughout which nobody said a word.

"You made Yashima cry." Yukari growled finally.

Shiina looked at Yuuma sympathetically, then turned away and covered his ears.

"I did." Yuuma said in his usual empty polite tone. "Unintentionally."

Yukari promptly assaulted his pride as a man for the second time in less than an hour.

"I'll admit... I deserved that... Probably..." the male choked out in a whisper, attempting to keep standing.

Yukari then landed a nice right hook to his jaw and sent him to the ground - also for the second time in less than an hour.

"I think he gets the message, Yukari."

The girl huffed and stroked Yashima's head. "He'll be sleeping in the hall, Ya-chan, don't you worry."

"Yukari, leave the matter be." Zeilla ordered sternly.

"Fine, but he's only inside at all because he's yours." stated the infamous Demon Ashikabi. "Come on, let's keep looking for Ku. Shiina, is Ku anywhere nearby?"

The 'Death God' Sekirei shook his head. "It's almost lunch time so maybe we could try around the markets here?"

Yukari perked up. "Good idea! I saw this nice little cafe when I first arrived here too. We could have a look when we get closer to the CBD if there is still no sign of Ku."

"Who is Ku?" Yuuma wheezed as he managed to stand again.

"Number one-oh-eight, Kusano, Shiina's friend." Zeilla informed him quickly. "Let's go people, before anyone gets mad at Yuuma again."

* * *

At mid-day, the party of five was still without success. The elusive #108 Kusano remained at large and unaccounted for and no information regarding her existence had been discovered. Shiina was resigned to continue until he found her and Yukari was determined to reunite the two. Zeilla was wondering why the cafe they were outside was still open for business without customers. Yashima was still upset and clinging to the Spartan.

Yuuma, the disturbingly carefree male Sekirei, didn't appear to have a thought in his mind at all.

 _How surprising._ Zeilla thought sarcastically with a snort. _I wonder where he gets his confidence from... Or if he truly doesn't care for his own life._

As they entered the cafe Zeilla scanned the room for threats, beings, escape routes and ambush points - a habit she was determined to keep no matter what the game threw at her. Only two beings were within. A young woman with fiery orange hair and an old woman with a hard but kind face, both dressed as maids, watching them from the kitchen.

The tall young woman's jaw dropped momentarily but she quickly recovered and hurried in a dignified manner to meet the five.

"Hello! Welcome to the Take-a-Break cafe." she said with a pleasant smile and a slight bow. "I'm the owner, Ruso. How can I serve you all this fine day?"

Yukari dealt with the owner quickly and they were allowed to choose any table they desired - for obvious reasons. Zeilla led them all to the back corner near the kitchen entrance and put her back to it so she could keep all entry points in her field of view. After a reading pf the menu and placing their orders the young owner cheerfully returned to the kitchen.

Not a moment later the old woman came out with Zeilla's jug of water and a glass.

"I must say, what an odd collection of children you are." she commented with a chuckle, setting the items down before the Spartan, then shoving both Yuuma's and Zeilla's hoods off their heads and bopping them both on the nose. "It's rude to cover your head indoors. What do they teach you these days?"

"I appologise, I am still learning the customs of your nation." Zeilla said diplomatically.

The old woman smiled pleasantly despite the calculating look in her eye. "You picked a bad time to visit this city, young lady. That blasted MBI conglomer-whatchamacallit has caused nothing but trouble for us sensible people. Buying the entire city, bah."

"The company has been throwing its weight around, indeed." Zellia agreed cautiously.

"And there I go spouting nonsense to young impatient people again." she chuckled. "Hold on to your seats, I tell you. Hotaruso is the best damn cook this place ever had - I know, I've worked here for thirty years or more. Gotta keep some of these girls proper you know. I tell you, her food will knock you for a round."

The group was dead quiet as the old maid wandered back into the kitchen.

"Now that is a character." Zeilla thought aloud. "I'm sure the owner has been dying for fresh company."

"You said it." Yukari snickered.

The next few minutes passed by with small talk about the various dishes in the menu and the sights seen during the morning. After an off-hand comment from Yuuma about Yukari's assaults on him Yashima and Shiina ended up regaling them all with stories of the numerous victims to fall before the Demon Ashikabi.

The recitations halted abruptly when the two maids returned, just as Zeilla was refilling her glass of water. They quickly set about bringing each dish to its requestor without even needing to check what was for who.

"Sorry for the wait." the redhead said as she maneuvered between Yashima and Zeilla to place their respective dishes before them without breaking eye contact with the latter. "Please don't hesitate to call upon me if there is anything you require." she impressed upon them.

Once the two were gone the group tasted their food and each was delighted and surprised. Zeilla found herself curious as to why people put so much effort into preparing food, her Spartan training dietary requirements being so controlled voiding her of such taste-bud experience. She wasn't sure what her opinion was yet and this was another curveball after adjusting to Yukari's modest culinary skills.

Strangely she found her glass empty, even though she knew she had just refilled it.


	8. Chapter VII

Chapter VII

* * *

Staring out the window at the motionless street was somewhat calming. Zeilla's head was full of her observations of both Yashima and Yuuma and she was attempting to determine a course of action that would not hurt her overly attached Sekirei yet did not encourage her attachment further. The two opposing desired results waged a war in her mind even late into the night. The quiet and stillness would aid her - or so she hoped.

Something else was nagging away at her in the background, but she hadn't the faintest idea what. The distraction was only prolonging her considerations.

Suddenly Yashima gasped and sat up, eyes wide and searching the room. "Z-sama!"

"Hmm?"

The girl panted for a few moments, searching the room even after finding her Ashikabi at the window.

"Yashima?"

"Its... It's nothing... It must have been a dream..."

There was a knock on the door and Yuuma poked his head in. The two Sekirei locked eyes for only a second but the tension in the room shot up a hundred-fold.

"Yuuma, out. Both of you back to sleep." Zeilla ordered, leaving the room herself.

 _Perhaps some air will clear my mind. Never before has sleep eluded me. Is this a side effect of being an Ashikabi?_

There was still that nagging feeling. It had gotten greater too. Zeilla could feel worry, fear and a little spark of pleasure. The feelings were completely unrelated to her headspace.

 _Something strange is going on here. I think I'll see what information I can extract from that MBI hospital._

Without the risk of being seen by ordinary citizens Zeilla was free to use her augmented strength. Without Sekirei at her side either there was no need to restrict herself to the rooftops. The Spartan took full advantage of the lesser gravity compared to Reach by cutting loose and running as fast as she could. Bounding several meters with every stride it appeared more like how one would bounce on the moon.

Reaching the hospital didn't take long at all. By her standards, it was a short sprint north-ward and through into the north-western side of the city center. Only then did she ascend to a roof and climb a high-rise to spot the hospital standing clear of all other buildings.

Zeilla took a moment to collect her thoughts before leaping down across a few buildings and into the parking lot, then headed inside.

As she entered a security guard looked at his phone, then her hooded face, then his phone again. Zeilla frowned at that and made a mental note to investigate later.

"Good evening- er, morning, how can I help you?" a middle-aged nurse asked as she neared the front desk.

"I am curious about potential complications of winging." Zeilla said cautiously. "Is there someone I can speak to regarding the bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi?"

The woman nodded and flipped through a folder casually. "If you take a seat and wait a minute I'll have one of the scientists come down and collect you."

Sensing the dismissal Zeilla decided to comply. It would give her more time to prepare questions for this scientist.

In ten minutes a man of around sixty exited the elevator and came towards her. He showed all the signs of unhealthy stress levels including profuse sweating.

"I'm a researcher with MBI studying the bond." he said quickly by way of greeting, sounding annoyed. "I am very busy so let's get right to answering what questions I can. What seems to be your problem?"

Zeilla narrowed her eyes under her hood as she barely had to look up at the short man. "What is the nature of this bond? Besides the signs of winging and the forming of a crest are there any evidences to its existence."

The man swallowed. "Yes, though no Ashikabi has permitted an examination yet. Sekirei at the health checkup reported a kind of rudimentary telepathy with their Ashikabi, and those Sekirei of the Ashikabi of the South mentioned a greater sensitivity to not only their master's emotions and thoughts but also of each other."

"Telepathy." Zeilla repeated.

"Yes, telepathy. We have yet to discover a case of more than the most basic feelings being transmitted and received clearly but as far as we can tell it is largely an unconscious process. Theoretically, bonded beings could communicate as clearly as speech or perhaps more so considering the emotional connection but such a bond requires much effort on the part of the Ashikabi." he rattled off hurriedly. "Is there something else or can I get back to work? I really am under a lot of time pressure."

"Just a moment. What must Ashikabi do to progress these telepathic bonds?"

The researcher sighed and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "To become more powerful an Ashikabi typically must bond with more Sekirei. The easiest way, that is. Over time as the two become more familiar with each other the bond strengthens. There is a theory buzzing around that falling in love with their Sekirei would significantly boost an Ashikabi's power. The focus of my own research is the physical effects of-"

"How does this telepathy manifest?"

He huffed at her interruption. "Sudden feelings not your own, greater understanding of the other's thoughts, occasional unnatural awareness of the other... Not much has been documented as nobody has bothered to give us the chance to study them."

Zeilla scowled. She did not like the idea of people being able to read her mind one bit. "Thank you, I believe this will be helpful in my situation."

"If you wouldn't mind dropping by for tests some time I would be happy to arrange a session with my superior or you could leave your contact details with the nurse at reception." he told her tiredly and left without waiting for a response.

Zeilla was about to depart herself when one of the security guards spoke into his radio.

"Lock down the roof access. If Sekirei are fighting up there we can't let them get in and endanger the staff. Keep them out and hope they go away."

 _A Sekirei battle? I could do with some insight into the way they fight._

Zeilla quickly exited the hospital and circled around until she found a solid looking drain pipe, then carefully ascended to the roof. Voices and the clashing of metal reached her ears. The Spartan padded towards the sounds and peered over the edge of the peeked roof down at a lower level flat roof with railing around the edges. A squat structure in the middle appeared to be a fire escape door.

Two young women were in a standoff, one seeming angry and the other merely irritated. They clashed blades for three seconds before disengaging again for another stare down.

Zeilla studied them in the stillness.

One had shortish brown hair, a tight green short dress with a blue line down the right front and the orange-red Sekirei symbol on the left. To account for it ending too high for modesty she also wore black shorts and light green thigh high boots. She held a pair of short slightly curved swords in her hands, blades along her forearms and ready to defend.

The other had a black vest exposing half her stomach under an olive-green jacket that clearly once had sleeves before they were hacked off roughly. She also had short shorts though belted and her knee boots were red, tightly laced up the shin. Well-worn bandages were wrapped around her hands, elbows and knees. This fire-haired girl totted a silvery polearm with a 'H' shaped blade held at the bridge by two pointed forks. She was tense, probably the lesser of the two, despite being the aggressor from what little Zeilla had seen.

 _Wait... I've seen that colour before... The young ginger owner of that cafe! Same height, same build, hair about the same length but up in a high ponytail._

The dual wielder suddenly gasped and brought a hand to her chest, flushing and staggering back a step. The redhead took a step back too in surprise.

"You're unwinged! How can you defend against me so easily?" the tomboy growled.

The older alien smiled and panted. "You are quite high on the scale, number one hundred and two. I am number nineteen, Ikki. Such a gap puts you far below my strength."

"Ah, but now you are reacting to an Ashikabi." the halberd wielder smirked. "If they come closer you won't be able to fight me off any more than if you were blind."

Ikki laughed a little and blushed heavily. "But my Ashikabi is right over there." she breathed triumphantly and pointed with her left sword hilt.

The redhead followed her gaze... Right to Zeilla.

 _Crap._

"Hey! That's my Ashikabi!" the redhead snapped angrily.

 _Oh shit..._

Ikki's brow shot up. "You have your wings and still can't touch me?"

"Shut up! We haven't kissed yet is all. I came here to do it properly this time but you had to show up and get in the way!"

"I came seeking my Ashikabi." Ikki countered. "Wait... Hotaruso... If you didn't kiss..."

"I sampled her saliva off a glass she drank from yesterday." 102 pouted. "I knew her other Sekirei would never let me close enough if she saw me going for it."

 _What the hell..._

Zeilla dropped down to stand between them. "Hotaruso, are you telling me that you winged yourself without me knowing it, let alone agree to it?"

"It's just Ruso." she said, ducking her head a little. "I didn't want to have to fight before getting your seal. I would have done it properly if it weren't for your other two sitting there, I swear!"

The Spartan groaned. "I can't believe this is happening."

"I couldn't believe Id met an Ashikabi so perfect for me." Ruso countered. "You have red hair and green eyes. You're tall and strong too - just like me- hey what are you doing?!"

Suddenly Zeilla was forcefully spun around and Ikki dived in for a kiss before she could respond. The Sekirei kept it short and moaned happily as bright teal wings burst into the night.

"My Ashikabi, now and for many years to co-"

Ruso kicked Ikki aside, seething. "I haven't even kissed her yet!" she roared, then she too assaulted the Spartan's mouth but far more roughly.

As the orange wings flared out behind Ruso Zeilla realised in less than twenty-four hours she had gone from one Sekirei to four.

 _What the hell am I going to do now?!_ She screamed in her mind.

Ruso suddenly recoiled from her passionate kiss looking afraid and confused. "Did... Did I do something wrong? I studied kissing a lot to make sure I'd be good at it."

Ikki snorted. "No, she is angry that we didn't give her any warning."

"Hey, shut up you! You don't even know our Ashikabi's name!"

"Oh? And you do?"

"Yes. Her second Sekirei called her Zeilla." Ruso declared with pride.

Ikki's smug murmur darked the other's mood. "Thanks for telling me."

"Dam... You sneaky little-"

Sneaky? Me? You winged yourself with a glass!"

"Ladies, please stop everything and be quiet for a minute." the Spartan commanded over any retort.

Both Sekirei seemed to agree their Ashikabi's words were more important than fighting each other.

"It's been a long day." Zeilla began. "Out of nowhere three Sekirei have decided it was a good idea to wing themselves to me. Right now, I'm short on sleep and have the three of you to consier in how I live my life. Do you see what I mean?"

Ikki nodded and sheathed her blades at the back of her belt but Ruso looked angry.

"We were supposed to celebrate, just you and me. It's all her fault!"

Zeilla held up a hand to which Ruso reduced herself to unintelligible mutterings. "It's about half two in the morning. Let's all go back to how we were before and meet back here in twenty-four hours to sort everything out with all four of you present. Any objections?"

Ikki shook her head. Ruso looked like she wanted to argue but at the last second clamped her jaw shut and folded her arms over her modest bust with a grunt.

"Good. Go home and sleep, you crazy aliens."

Ikki snickered. "And I thought you were the crazy one. Did you know the MBI soldiers have called you the 'Ashikabi of War' ever since you broke out? They were no match for your tactics at all."

Ruso became starry-eyed and edged closer to the Spartan. "They really call her that? That's awesome!"

Zeilla rubbed her face with her hands and exhaled slowly. "Off with the pair of you and I don't want you rocking up outside at sunrise either. Get going."

Ikki laughed and waved, then took a running leap into the sky and vanished from sight.

"My 'Ashikabi of War', now and forever." Ruso uttered with barely contained anticipation as she edged closer again. "I can't wait to fight beside you. We will slaughter all who stand against us."

"Go home." Zeilla deadpanned.

"A kiss for the road?"

"No."

The Sekirei pouted and shuffled back a few steps. "Okay, too much too soon. But I'll be here early tonight waiting for you!" she decided and got herself fired up again. "Later, Z!"

Ruso couldn't have sprung away sooner in Zeilla's mind. "She is going to be a handful. At least Yuuma doesn't push. Ah, crap, Yashima won't like this at all." she hissed and began climbing down off the roof.

 _If anyone needs time to adjust its Yashima._

* * *

As soon as Zeilla stepped inside Yashima came hurtling through the air and almost tackled her outside again. The Spartan managed to shuffle around and shut the door behind her but moving further into the flat was going to be problematic unless she could calm Sekirei #84.

"Yashima?"

"I won't let them take you away, Z-sama!" she sobbed. "I can beat them! Don't leave me, please!"

Zeilla swallowed. She had a feeling this might happen. "So, you could feel the winging through our bond."

The teen nodded and hugged tighter.

"Remember Hotaruso from the cafe? Sekirei number one-oh-two. Also winged to me is number nineteen, Ikki. Both are weapon users. They tracked me down at the MBI hospital." she explained. "Ruso is devious despite her seemingly short temper. Ikki is certainly the most mature Sekirei I've run into besides Kagari."

"Where are they now?"

"I sent them both away for now. At two AM tomorrow all five of us will meet on top of the MBI hospital where we can sit down and discuss everything together. Plenty of time to prepare yourself."

Yashima sniffed. "At least Yuuma doesn't do anything, even if he does irritate us all with his attitude. But two more girls? This is a nightmare - I want to wake up and have it just us again."

"Wishful thinking gets nothing done, Yashima."

"I know... But... Can I just dream a little longer?"

Zeilla sighed while Yukari wandered into the entry way rubbing at her eyes. "At some point, you will have to face reality. Better to prepare in advance because reality doesn't have fragile feelings."

Yukari took a moment to analyse the scene before her. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Depends entirely on what you think it is." Zeilla replied. "What 'this' is... It is the result of two more Sekirei deciding to wing themselves to me."

Yukari's eyes bulged. "You have four! Wow!"

Yuuma arrived with a yawn. "Its past three AM. What's the fuss? It's just two more Sekirei."

Yukari's pupils darted between Zeilla and Yuuma. "You knew already?"

"Clearly so did Yashima." Zeilla said, then cleared her throat. "Let's deal with this in the morning because miss Eighty-Four here certainly needs her sleep."

The aforementioned Sekirei sniffed and nuzzled into her Ashikabi's abdomen. "I'm not letting go." she mumbled. "They'll steal you away."

The Spartan resisted the urge to express her growing frustration.

 _I doubt I shall be blessed with sleep tonight._

* * *

"Aww... Another dead end."

Zeilla was growing concerned. Yesterday - besides all the other stuff - she and Yashima had shadowed Yukari and Shiina around the city but found no child that fit Shiina's description or felt like the one they sought. Today Yukari was irritated and took her frustration with the situation out on various people. The latest victim was an Ashikabi's manly pride... And potentially his ability to produce offspring. It wasn't enough for Yukari that Shiina had easily defeated every Sekirei they encountered, the girl had to get a few shots in at someone.

 _It's still morning. How bad will she be tonight, or tomorrow?_

Yukari's phone rang and she answered it excitedly.

"Shiina is so strong." Yashima said, admiration clear in her voice. "I heard rumors about the elemental Sekirei but to see him overpower everyone else..."

"From what I've seen you are all balanced. Elementals are powerful but physically lesser than weapon users like yourself." Zeilla countered simply. "Those who fight with just their body are even stronger but less versatile than a weapon user which is in turn more limited than an elemental. It's all about application - how you use your abilities."

Yashima bobbed her head thoughtfully. "Elementals are dependent on their power, aren't they? Being so strong and all."

"Yep. In that regard Sekirei like Benitsubasa likely have the greatest advantage. She can take some punishment and keep pressing but an elemental probably can't."

"Then I must be closer to the fist-types than the elementals." #84 concluded. "I was born to wield a hammer. My only power is my Norito and I am strong because of my weapon's weight."

Zeilla nodded. "Now let's think about Shiina. He isn't very strong by Sekirei standards. It will take a long time for him to build muscle, so how would you train him for combat in the mean time?"

The teen hummed and knit her brows together.

"Hey, Z-chan, Ya-chan! My brother just called." Yukari shouted up at them, oblivious to Shiina clapping his hands over his ears. "We're going to meet in front of the station. Want to come?"

Zeilla gave her a thumbs-up and looked for a good route she could take across the rooftops.

"I think I got it. He needs to fight smart, not hard. Maybe a martial art?"

"Good thinking. Something fast and strategic or makes use of the opponent's strength against them."

Yashima grinned, then bowed her head and sighed. "But we don't know any martial arts."

Zeilla smirked and ruffled her hair, upsetting the placement of her ribbon. "How do you think such arts started? I know some techniques involving disarming an opponent so we adapt those and make the rest up by experimenting."

"Uh, Yukari and Shiina are getting ahead of us."

"Thanks. Plant our little message in the Ashikabi's pocket and catch up to me. Then we shall discuss Shiina's training in more detail while she chops another bunch down to size."

* * *

In the last fading light of the sunset Shiina wiped the sweat from his brow and let himself off the roof to the ground. Zeilla watched as he returned to Yukari's side for a break by the fountain, trying to see what it was about being near his Ashikabi that revitalised him enough to return in mere minutes to continue sparring. It was a pattern they established in the hour the four had waited for Yukari's brother: Zeilla and Shiina would fight until he was defeated, Yukari would towl him off a bit and cheer him on before he returned for some instruction and another fight. Yashima, well... Yashima had fallen asleep some time in the first half hour.

The Spartan sighed. Shiina was reasonably quick to learn if you could keep him thinking of what they were doing as protecting Yukari, but otherwise he clamned up with worry that he might access his power.

Another matter of some concern was the tardiness of the older Sahashi. It was getting late for any dinner arrangements and Yukari was getting restless, divided between anger at her brother and frustration over the Ku-hunt.

Also, tonight would be another short on sleep.

Zeilla rolled her shoulders back and shook out each limb, then picked up her workout from where she had left off last time Shiina had given in. If the kid was ever going to be a competent fighter, he would need a lot more work than she had put into Yashima's training.

Still, the Spartan would prefer it if Yukari's brother would arrive so they could get the day finished.

Sooner than expected Shiina leapt back up to the roof. "Yukari's brother had a sudden errand to run and couldn't make it." he said, sounding a little glum. "Sorry we wasted your time."

Zeilla rolled her eyes and went over to wake Yashima. "Shiina, pardon my French but... You need to grow some balls. Yukari's brother wasted all our time if anyone did, but we still managed to make use of the situation."

The male Sekirei blinked. "French?"

"Never mind, forget I said anything. Let's return to base."

Due to the late hour Zeilla had Yashima carry Yukari so they could cover distance rapidly. She wasn't game to ask Shiina for several reasons - including but not limited to his recent exertion.

Once back in Yukari's flat they found Yuuma laying on the floor in the kitchen with his shirt off, resulting in Yukari needing to be distracted by Shiina asking what they would do for dinner. Number 50 quickly vacated the room.

"Yuuma, do you make a habit of impersonating a sloth?" Zeilla asked as she tracked him to the bathroom.

"No, but the cool floor felt good." he replied, voice void of emotions besides boredom. "I just got back from the gym. Being winged has given me a lot more energy and I feel stronger too. I lost track of time."

The Spartan raised a brow. "I just realised I never asked about your specialisation and power. Do you mind enlightening me?"

Yuuma finished splashing water over his rather defined torso and put his shirt back on, ignoring how it clung to him and leaning against the vanity. "To be frank I've never considered myself much of a fighter." he drawled, feigning disinterest. "I can form a thin but highly dense and resilient material over myself - and if I choose to - an object that I touch, rendering myself and the object practically invulnerable ... But the price is mobility. Whatever I envelop is then unable to move. The material doesn't discriminate. I can't breathe either."

Zeilla ran the information around in her mind several times. "You're an elemental Sekirei, then. An interesting ability, I'm curious to see it in action. How about your Norito?"

The man shrugged. "I never asked the scientists for a projection. I didn't care. Now? Eh... I think I should figure it out at some point."

"I see. What is the material?"

Yuuma shrugged again. "Never asked, but I don't think MBI knows either. I've just always called it 'Iron' because of its dull grey colour."

The Spartan folded her arms in thought. "As I understand it your power is all defensive, not offensive. How are you supposed to fight like that? Can you localise the effect? Envelop your fist but not your whole arm?"

He blinked a few times, evidently surprised. He raised his right arm, formed a fist, then narrowed his eyes. Suddenly a dull grey colour rapidly spread from his hand and all over his torso, barely stopping above his ankles. Yuuma dismissed the 'Iron' material and hummed.

"Might need more practice at that." he mumbled. "Clever idea though. Knew you were a good pick for an Ashikabi."

Zeilla snorted. "You Sekirei are too simple in your thinking. Humans are always finding new ways to kill each other, you may one day realise. I am trained for combat so using everything I can as a weapon, tool or shield is an important survival skill."

He nodded. "I can imagine. I can use my 'Iron' to repel any attack but doing so leaves me vulnerable to execution. Sekirei can still touch my crest through it."

"I see... But what about your activities at your gym? Why do anything at all if you don't care?" Zeilla asked, glad she had the chance to confront him about his attitude through a topic that mattered.

"Well, mostly to hide better from other Sekirei." he shrugged. "I picked up boxing out of curiosity and just stuck with it."

"Boxing?"

"I'm not very good compared to the hardcore guys who train there but thanks to my DNA and all the training I can endure longer than they can keep punching."

"Boxing could work well with your power." Zeilla thought aloud. "Use 'Iron' to take the attacks you can't dodge and harden your own strikes for more impact... In a team... You could raise defense screens for allies using something flexible... But the immobility..."

Yuuma smiled. "Quite the handicap."

"Your feet were free when you used it just now." Zeilla reminded him with a shake of her head.

"So?"

"So, practice. Work at focusing on specific areas. In time, I believe I can make a considerable combat asset out of you, Yuuma."

The Sekirei rose a brow, a little smile spreading across his face again. "Well, if my Ashikabi wishes it then I will do what I can to grant it. I will start experimenting with my control tomorrow."

"Good. As well I would like you to teach Shiina what you can about boxing. Being a stereotypical 'manly' sport, it could give him more confidence while helping with his combat awareness."

Yuuma hesitated. "You openly aid another Ashikabi and a Sekirei not your own?"

"We are allies." Zeilla stated bluntly. "I don't like this game. Minaka is a tyrannical terrorist manipulating Sekirei and endangers innocents with his designs. I am looking to remove Minaka, failing that, the bulk of MBI."

"Ambitious. You know what MBI is capable of." he said cautiously.

Zeilla nodded. "That's why I'm building up Yashima and Shiina. Now that you, Ruso and Ikki have busted into my life like she did I may as well build you up for real combat too."

"Ruso and Ikki...?"

"Numbers one-oh-two, Hotaruso, and nineteen, Ikki. Both are weapon users and winged themselves last night."

"Ah." he nodded. "That's what woke me up and made Yashima panic."

Zeilla paused. "You are quite in tune with these bonds, aren't you? Yet you claim not to care about anything."

Yuuma chuckled and tapped his temple with a finger. "Not much going on up here means I see and feel more of what's around me. I'm thinking it's your head full of schemes and soldier stuff that distracts you from feeling the bonds. You need to 'empty your mind' as they say."

Zeilla snorted. "A common misconception. If you empty your mind, then it lets anything come to life in the space you make. By focusing on something you can push aside all the rest. Fill your mind with something and roll it around to see every side of it, Yuuma, and you will come to better understand it. The trick is searching one's self and determining what it is that needs investigating. Until Ruso and Ikki I have been drowning the bonds with you and Yashima in other data. Now it's coming to the surface anyway."

"You really do have a lot going on up there." the man chuckled. "It will be good for you to be more in touch with Yashima and these other two."

"Whoa whoa whoa, if you want to get steamy please take it to a hotel! I don't want you to destroy my maiden's pure mind!" Yukari exclaimed suddenly from the hall.

"We were talking."

"While he's in the bathroom?"

Zeilla blinked. "Problem?"

Yukari shook her head and muttered something. "Anyway, dinner is ready. Yashima was really stressing out over making it good so you'd better come quickly."

Zeilla and Yuuma nodded, then followed their hostess to help move the food.

"You are going out later, right?" Yukari asked after a minute. "Do you want Shiina and I to come too?"

Zeilla shook her head. "We are meeting on the roof of the MBI hospital so I doubt there will be anything we can't handle."

"If you say so. Come on, let's eat. Yashima really went all out tonight!"

#84 flinched and ducked her head shyly. "Just a little."

Yuuma made an amused noise as they all sat down around the table. Something he seemed to be doing a lot lately. "Thanks for the food."


	9. Chapter VIII

Chapter VIII

* * *

Yashima sat up and looked around, causing Zeilla to frown. "What?"

"Something is... Wrong." she whispered with rising distress.

The door opened and Yuuma stuck his head in. "I think one of the others is fighting." he said tiredly.

The Spartan quickly got to her feet and threw her cloak over her shoulders, snagging the sledgehammer from beside Yashima. "Both of you get dressed. We're going to pull whoever is in trouble out of it before they get killed. Pulling no punches, people. Yashima, the big hammer."

The teen nodded and glared Yuuma out of the room before grabbing her old outfit, then hesitating and going for the black outfit Zeilla had picked up with her. The girl didn't seem to suit the pants and jacket at first but she had come to prefer it as her Ashikabi was wearing the same thing under the hooded cloak.

When they padded out to let Yukari and Shiina sleep Yuuma looked at his brown and grey clothes and hummed. "We supposed to have a uniform?"

"Black at night is just sensible." Zeilla answered curtly. "Can you find the trouble through the bond?"

He nodded.

"Then let's waste no time."

* * *

"The hospital?"

Zeilla frowned. "Ruso mentioned she would be here early. Perhaps she drew unwanted attention by hanging around for too long."

Yashima readied her huge hammer.

Yuuma wrapped an arm around Zeilla and made the impossibly long jump to the roof of the MBI hospital, Yashima matching him perfectly with a scowl marring her usually soft and innocent face. The Spartan merely rolled her eyes and led the two aliens to the lower roof with the fire escape.

There they found Ruso gasping for breath and leaning heavily on her weapon for support, snarling at a familiar looking swordswoman.

"You... You aren't even trying..." Ruso hissed at her opponent. "What are you?"

Zeilla narrowed her eyes. "Number zero four, Karasuba. Funny meeting you here."

The woman smirked. "So, this really is your little bird? So pathetic."

Ruso roared and charged at Karasuba with a cleverly angled defensive yet offensive slash but the latter effortlessly smashed her weapon aside with sword-flat, then kicked the redhead through the door of the fire escape and scoffed.

Zeilla cautiously dropped down and slowly put herself between the two Sekirei, Yashima and Yuuma at her flank.

"Why are you here?"

"The Discipline Squad aren't just enforcers, Spartan, we are part of the game too." the Black Sekirei said, pulling a small vicious smirk.

Ruso stumbled back out onto the roof looking terrible, small cuts and bruising all over her body. She made to attack again but Zeilla restrained her by the back of her vests.

"Ruso will back down. Leave us alone, Karasuba."

#102 hissed but didn't press the matter.

Karasuba snorted. "But I won't. You have been a very interesting addition to the Sekirei project but now you are becoming a threat to my revenge. Time to cull your strength down to a more manageable level."

She lunged forward almost too fast to see, but Yuuma pushed Ruso out of the way and used his 'Iron' to take the thrust. Karasuba didn't hesitate to pivot on one leg and kick his ridged form away. #04 hacked at Ruso's guard as a feint to duck under the polearm and slam the hilt of her sword into the redhead's solar-plexus, knocking her down with the shock alone.

Yashima took the opportunity to raise her huge hammer high and drag it down on the Black Sekirei, but to everyone's surprise Karasuba reversed her grip on her sword and caught the hammerhead on the pommel and in her off hand. Yashima groaned with effort as she tried to crush the Discipline Squad leader anyway.

Karasuba did appear to have difficulty holding her off, but it didn't stop her from sliding over Ruso's semi-conscious form and lining up her sword with #102's chest, smirking the entire time.

Zeilla opened her mouth to give orders but Yuuma was already moving.

He dived between Karasuba's legs and enveloped Ruso, allowing Yashima to press harder without fear of harming either ally. #04 simply pushed up then rolled away as the hammer forced the two figures an inch into the roof surface. She lunged at Yashima first then at the last instant pirouetted around #84 and punched her sword hilt into the back of her skull with a resounding crack.

As Karasuba prepared to slash downwards Yuuma tackled Yashima out of the way. He was still turning his body to block when another figure burst out of the shadows and pushed him fully clear, deflecting the sword with a blade of their own.

Ikki slashed and jabbed at Karasuba rapidly and forced the single number back a few paces but with visible strain. The Black Sekirei on the other hand seemed almost relaxed throughout the exchange of blows. The swordswomen circled around for a moment after Ikki barely dodged and deflected a thrust from Karasuba, then they committed to a furious rally of attacks.

Number ninteen was constantly moving and never let her blades stop for long under her opponent's strong blows. It was a wonder to behold, but she outmatched even so.

With a flash of teeth in the night Karasuba's deadly and gracefully fluid defense became brutally efficient offense. She charged Ikki dead on with such force the higher number could not deny and proceeded to cut several gashes in Ikki's arms before she dropped to one knee to counter, only for Karasuba to put a boot in her face and send her tumbling across the roof.

Zeilla saw Yuuma helping Yashima up and Ruso still dazed.

 _My turn._ She thought with a grimace.

Boldly the Spartan stepped forward with the sledgehammer held near the head in her left hand and her stolen MBI issue rifle in her right. #04 raised her head and looked down her nose at Zeilla, even as the distance between them diminished.

"What's the plan, Karasuba? Kill one or two of the mere one hundred and eight of your species you know of? If you play the game and kill them all, then what?"

The Sekirei chuckled. "Then I travel the world, of course." she sneered and brought her sword up to guard.

Zeilla narrowed her eyes and stopped just beyond the other woman's reach. "I find it hard to believe you care nothing for the future of your species."

"These children don't matter at all unless they win" Karasuba replied. "Neither do you."

"By that logic, you recognise your own insignificance."

At that the swordswoman lunged forward with a slash for Zeilla's throat.

The Spartan barely raised the sledgehammer in time to fend off the sword with its head, then attempted to bring the rifle to bear as the Sekirei leapt up and over. A rushed upward swing with the hammer met a boot and the sword cleaved right through the rifle, singing as it parted the metal with ease. Karasuba ignored the thump of the hammer's grip connecting with her shoulder on the way down into a crouch to kick the towering mutated Human's legs out but Zeilla didn't try to fight the move. Instead she clubbed Karasuba on the left shoulder with the hammer and punched with the remnants of the rifle.

The Sekirei let the hammer blow spin her out of the way. On the follow through she too let fly a punch with her sword fist which Zeilla took on her right shoulder and sized the offending wrist, having discarded the rifle during her punch. Karasuba brought her free hand in to stab at Zeilla's throat but she blocked with the hammer head again. Zeilla let the Sekirei pull her off balance in an attempt to free her sword arm in order to raise the sledgehammer for an overhead strike.

Karasuba caught the hammer between her hand and the head. The Discipline Squad leader sneered with smug satisfaction: Zeilla's arms were crossed - a notoriously weak position to be in.

In response, the Spartan set her jaw and resolved to show the relatively shorter woman just how strong she was. Before the eyes of the four Sekirei she had easily defeated Karasuba was steadily forced back a step. Then down to one knee.

In a crouch #04 had the stability to match the Spartan's strength.

"I thought you were a warrior of honour, Karasuba." Zeilla said through clenched teeth. "I thought I could find an ally in you who would fight to free her people from MBI's control."

Karasuba grinned. "You were wrong. Oh sure, this has been fun, hasn't it? However, why would I ever want to work with a Human?"

Zeilla had crossed her arms for a reason. Before Karasuba could react, the Spartan's grip slipped and the hammer went high, allowing her a moment to backhand #04's jaw and snatch the sword from the Sekirei's loosened fingers in one motion.

#04 was quick to adjust by wrenching her wrist free and bringing the hammer down across Zeilla's own jaw as the Spartan spun away, lashing out with a kick to counter the motion of her right arm. Zeilla rolled across the roof with the force and came up ready to stab but Karasuba threw the sledgehammer straight into her gut and the force ended up carrying her into the wall next to the fire escape.

Karasuba kicked her sword mid fall and sent it at the cloaked Spartan.

Only for Yashima to leap into its path and be skewered through the thigh, forcing a blood curdling scream from her lips.

Zeilla was back on her feet before #84 landed heavily against the railing. She charged with the sledgehammer in motion but Karasuba ducked under it and executed a butterfly kick to fend off Ikki. The move landed her beside Yashima and #04 clearly took pleasure in ripping her sword free, eliciting another scream from the teen.

Karasuba raised her sword to deliver a chop. Ikki was still too far away, Yuuma was obstructed by Zeilla and Ruso was barely stable on one knee so a surprise attack from her was out of the question.

Zeilla wished she had another gun.

Ruso shouted "Decapitator!" and thrust her polearm forward.

With incredible speed the 'H' shaped blade of her weapon launched itself across the distance and slammed Karasuba's sword off target.

The Black Sekirei ducked under the blade as it zipped back to its place and straightened in time to brutally collect both of Ikki's swords and slash across her face in one strike, following up with another downward chop that split #19's dress down one side and spilt plenty of blood. Ruso levered herself to her feet and launched her blade again, this time at Karasuba's feet. The swordswoman hopped over it and side stepped its return to meet Yuuma's grab for her shoulders with a nasty uppercut to the chin followed by a lateral slash powered by a quick spin. He enveloped himself in time to save his midsection from being split in half but she just used brute force to shove him into the railing next to Yashima.

Then Ruso was in range and unleashing her fury in the form of crazed strikes, completely disregarding her weapon's primary means of inflicting damage. Karasuba backed up quickly to back flip into the wall of the adjacent hospital wing, then launch herself to land on top of the redhead. Ruso swung up at her but Karasuba kicked the pole down and landed a bone shattering stomp to Ruso's left shoulder before thrusting her sword down into her side for good measure.

Yuuma came back with a section of railing in his grasp. Karasuba hesitated at the spectacle and Ikki - the one who cut it free for him - hid her eyes. The male Sekirei held it by one end and swung it down at Karasuba from over his head, to which she simply blocked and her sword split the supporting bars. Yuuma took both halves and tried to clap her between them but she nimbly stepped between the support bars and let them collide.

Then #04 frowned as 'Iron' instantly enveloped the railing, fusing it whole again and making defending herself more difficult.

Zeilla hurled the sledgehammer into Karasuba's back while she was distracted and was rewarded with a wet thud of bone struck through flesh, also managing to whack her in the head with the handle.

Yashima suddenly arrived hissing in pain as she brought her massive hammer down hard, crushing Karasuba into the roof a way in spite of her shock absorbing crouch. Yashima prepared to strike again but the Disciplinary Squad leader had other ideas. She used 'Iron'-ed Yuuma as a club to bash the hammer aside and lunged forward to drive her bloodied sword through the girl's dominant shoulder, barely missing bone.

Number Eighty-Four's eyes widened with shock, then rolled back in their sockets as her body went limp, dragging itself off Karasuba's blade.

Ruso took a wild swing with one arm as she leapt to her feet which Karasuba side stepped and backed out of range. Then the redhead pulled a fork out of her pocket with her bad arm and stuck it in her mouth. The darkness gave way to the dazzling brilliance of #102's orange wings.

The young woman roared something unintelligible around the fork and launched her blade at #04, who deflected it easily and started to advance. Ruso grunted and swung back hard, managing to tear the train of Karasuba's haori when the single number dodged the 'H' blade sailing through the air. #102 didn't let up. She kept sweeping her forked polearm from side to side and forcing her opponent to dance around.

The blade wasn't returning, rather it was changing its distance to home in on Karasuba with each swing. Hotaruso's Norito in action.

Twenty seconds after activation the orange glow infused into the weapon began to fade. The Black Sekirei took notice and smacked the next swing into the ground, grinding the blade along the roof as it returned to the shaft.

Ruso launched her blade again but the single number leapt into a high backflip, landing on the upper roof and her sword shimmering with streaks of red in the moonlight. Ruso tried to raise her weapon to try once more but she was spent. She gasped and collapsed to her knees, the fork and polearm clanging as they dropped also.

"Let this be a lesson to those who would break the rules." Karasuba sneered, no signs of injury or exertion visible.

Then she was off into the night.

Zeilla scowled. _She took us apart. I need to deal with her if I'm ever going to break the game. Musing can wait. I must see to my allies... My Sekirei._

The Spartan glanced at Ruso. Besides her exhaustion and dosens of injuries the only concern was her shoulder and the long gash down her side. Looking to Ikki revealed a need for new clothes and stitches but nothing life threatening. Yuuma of course was completely unharmed.

But Yashima...

Zeilla rushed to her side and checked her pulse. Determining the teen had passed out from shock the Spartan beckoned to Yuuma.

"We need to apply pressure to her thigh and her shoulder." she told him. "Ikki, bring what's left of your dress and slice it up to give me long strips. Yuuma, I want you to apply pressure to both ends of the thigh wound and localise 'Iron' if you can."

They both rushed to comply.

"Ruso, keep an eye out for scavengers looking to pick us off."

"Yeah, Z." the redhead panted, forcing herself to crawl over to the railing with her weapon and use both to get to her feet.

"I can't localise enough." Yuuma said calmly.

"Then don't worry about it. Ikki?"

"Here."

"Hack off two squares from the edge of Yuuma's shirt under his hoodie. Place one over each wound and begin tying a strip around her shoulder: under arm, over shoulder, across chest and repeat. Tie it off as tightly as you can, then do the same with the thigh."

"Okay."

"What will you do?" Yuuma asked, blushing slightly as Ikki started fiddling with his clothes.

"You'll lend Ikki your hoodie." Zeilla continued as she carefully raised Yashima's head and shoulders to find her Sekirei crest remained at the nape of her neck. "This is an MBI owned and operated hospital. I'm going to bust my way through until some actual medical professionals get up here to tend to Yashima."

"Shouldn't we carry her inside?" Ikki inquired, pulling on the remnants of her dress as instructed.

Zeilla shook her head and laid Yashima flat. "I'm no medic but I can tell from the placement of the open wounds that there could be some serious damage to her femur. She also received a blow to the head in the fight and likely hit hard when she fell. Do not move her any more than you have to."

Ikki paled. "Poor girl."

The Spartan stood and turned towards fire escape. "We will talk about your little saliva sampling later, Ruso." she called back, then dropped down the three flights of stairs in one go and kicked the interior door clean off its hinges.

An MBI security guard gawked at her and went for his radio as soon as she marched into the hall beyond.

"There are three injured Sekirei on the roof, one of them seriously: possible broken femur, a concussion and is in shock. Her number is eighty-four. Get a medical team up there now!" she ordered him with a tone that dared anyone to defy her.

The man hesitated but a second before he sent out the information via radio with a nod.

 _Karasuba... She is a bad enemy to have. If she really will not side with me... Well, it's going to take a lot of work. I suppose it's fitting in a way - since when have I ever gotten the easy missions? Hell, I am almost missing the 'war' with the insurgents._


	10. Chapter IX

Chapter IX

* * *

In the three days since the fight with Karasuba Zeilla had spent her time shadowing Yukari around the city on foot. The simplicity let her analyse the single number and her own Sekirei while still being productive.

Even if it did become known that the 'Demon Ashikabi' and the 'Ashikabi of War' were allies.

Yuuma was checked out the following morning due to a minor concussion from taking a solid uppercut before he could envelop himself. Ever since he had disappeared off to his gym to work on the manipulation of his 'Iron'. Ruso was held back longer than initial projections thanks to her uncooperative behavior and was currently scheduled to be discharged after four days.

Yashima came off lucky, considering.

Karasuba's sword punched right through her femur relatively cleanly, only the displacement of bone causing a host of small fractures. The muscle damage was healing well and steadily - fast by Human standards - but she would be limping for at least a week after her discharge on day six. If she pushed herself too hard like Ruso was doing every chance she got, then Yashima risked another week and poor mending potentially hindering her for life. However, due to her serious concussion the teen was being kept under careful observation and - so far - was cooperating well. The woman in charge of her care had practically ordered Zeilla to tie #84 down to a bed if she did more than sit up to eat or use the bathroom for the week after discharge.

Ikki recovered over night and was discharged by morning. The young woman was a bit tender and careful not to stretch too much but was otherwise fine. She accompanied Zeilla everywhere in the absence of Yashima.

MBI dropped off a change of clothes for number Nineteen but she asked Zeilla to get her the same outfit as her and Yashima: black cargo jacket and pants with combat boots. In the same trip the Spartan had found a gun shop and acquired the largest caliber handgun it had, using the trick of treating Ikki to snacks all over the city as a means of extracting cash from her MBI card.

Ikki was friendly enough and a bit too affectionate towards her Ashikabi than typically acceptable in public for women of their apparent age but didn't seem inclined to do much or say much. Shiina had never met her and the two Sekirei understood the only reason they were peaceful with regard to each other's presence was due to the relationship between their respective Ashikabi. Fortunately, they left it at that.

Yukari received her as well as could be expected from the only normal human among them. They were civil but again the objective of the game's players meant that both were rather guarded in their behavior around the other.

On the up side, Ikki was quite aware she was a new face in an established group of friends and made an effort not to step on toes.

"Are we really doing this?" Zeilla asked Yukari.

The girl rolled her eyes. "It's not like we're criminals. We're just asking the guy about Ku. He should know if he works at MBI."

The Spartan narrowed her eyes. "Assault and battery, grievous bodily harm, disturbing the peace... Now breaking and entering."

Yukari scowled. "Just kick in the damn door, will you?"

"Actually..." Ikki stepped forward and inserted one short sword into the fine gap between the door and frame, then hacked downwards a few times before something gave way. #19 stepped back and nudged the door open with her foot, smiling.

Yukari charged into the ground level apartment on a mission, Shiina following with mixed feelings evident on his face.

"She's like a force of nature." Ikki observed with a slight laugh. "The boy just wants to see a friend and she scours all of Tokyo to make it happen."

"You heard the stories I assume."

"Yep."

Zeilla detected the telltale impacts of Yukari's boots in action and sighed, walking a few meters away from the building. Moments later an overweight man barreled out the front door and slipped on wet feet as he tied a towel around himself. He scrambled into the alley next to his apartment block.

Then Yukari executed a flying kick through a window to land in the man's gut.

Shiina carefully picked his way through the broken aperture in her wake.

"I can barely believe we've been watching this for two days already, coming to the end of the third... But after weeks of hunting she is still going?"

"She has a weakness for Shiina, Ikki. People have done far more and far worse for the one they love so unconditionally."

"I suppose. Still kind of impressive."

The latest victim of the Demon Ashikabi cried something Zeilla couldn't quite hear and tried to scuttle back.

"Huh? You work for MBI, no?"

"I'm just a micro mechanic for their manufacturing branch! I don't know what that number means!"

"Hmm, so you really don't know where One Hundred and Eight is?"

"Yes, I told you! Damn perverted bitch..."

"He's done it now." Ikki chuckled.

"Oh? Then I have no further use for you."

#19 counted down on her fingers. "And wham-o! That has got to be great stress relief."

Zeilla looked at the Sekirei sideways. "I thought you were more mature than that. No sympathy for the innocent man who just felt pain like no other?"

"None at all." she grinned. "Many of us have no real love for MBI."

"I see."

Yukari wandered past them, eyes glued to her phone. Somehow - or due to most civilians leaving the city - the girl didn't walk into anyone as she crossed over to a low wall next to a shopping square and sat down with Shiina.

Zeilla and Ikki shared a look, then made to join them.

"Yukari, what is it?" Shiina asked hesitantly.

"MBI." she said. "The message says there is one Sekirei left to be winged. She is in the northern area of the city."

 _Only one left? If they get winged, then the game will progress... Crap._

"The final unwinged... Shiina, could it be...?"

"It might be Ku." he nodded.

Yukari pocketed her phone and pulled #107 to stand with her. "Let's go, Shiina."

Ikki looked to Zeilla and the Spartan shrugged. "Let's just follow her and keep the competition off her back."

They hurried after the younger pair. Yukari was fast and knowing that every other Ashikabi had received the same message she was even more driven to find the last wingless Sekirei. Shiina was only keeping pace thanks to his hand trapped in her grip. Zeilla's strength and long strides were enough to start gaining on the girl but Ikki was forced to jog.

"Hey, if the final Sekirei is unwinged when we find them, who's going to wing her? You or Yukari?"

Zeilla shrugged. "I for one have no designs of that nature. I don't think its crossed Yukari's mind yet. I suspect we won't arrive in time for it to matter - we've had no luck in this hunt at all."

Ikki bit her lip.

"What?"

"I might be recovered enough to carry you over the rooftops." #19 ventured. "I think you should aim to wing the final Sekirei. I think I know who would abstain from being winged until the end."

Zeilla's eyes widened as it hit her. "A guardian who couldn't find a powerful enough Ashikabi to react to." she thought aloud. "Kagari."

Ikki made an inquisitive noise.

"If he is discovered then he'll have to fight. With so many likely heading for him he will use as much power as he can to win. He will overload. That's an unacceptable loss."

Ikki made that noise again.

"Alright, let's take to the sky." the Spartan agreed. "We are at a disadvantage being based in the south as it is."

Yuuma landed beside them.

"I was on my way back when I felt you two nearby. What's going on?"

"Great timing, Yuuma." the Spartan greeted him. "I need you to find two or three fire extinguishers - the more heavy-duty the better - and bring them to us."

The male balked but nodded. "I guess explanations will keep." he said, then leapt away as suddenly as he had arrived.

They then stopped so Ikki could scoop up her Ashikabi and leap to the rooftops too.

"Head for the Izumo Inn." she told the Sekirei. "That's his home base and residence."

"The safest place in the city, nice. Hope we don't bring a fight to the gates."

 _Hang on, Kagari._

* * *

"Holy hell... The building is on fire." Ikki gasped. "No, wait, is that Homura on the roof? He's so powerful!"

Zeilla gritted her teeth as they stopped on a high-rise two blocks away. "I met him at the MBI resort. He told me his power is unstable until he gets winged. I don't know about you but that looks out of control. He's burning up."

Suddenly an impossible stream of water descended from a point above the inferno. Steam clouds engulfed the rooftop, yet the water kept pouring until the fire was snuffed out.

"That was a Sekirei." Ikki confirmed. "Zero-Nine."

"Water won't put out embers that smolder beyond its reach. Even now he's slowly coming back to life." Zeilla countered. "We should dump him in the harbour until he can get his flames under control."

"There is a problem with that. There are two Ashikabi and a large number of Sekirei on that building."

The Spartan cycled a breath. "Let's move to a building adjacent theirs and examine the scene in more detail."

Ikki nodded and hopped across on three of the tallest buildings to land on another high-rise overlooking the foggy area.

Zeilla stood on her own as soon as they landed and rushed to the edge to scan that lower rooftop. Four Sekirei stood arrayed between a crispy-soggy Kagari and three others. An Ashikabi stood among the three, a man in a suit and tie. Three Sekirei of each faction paired up and began to battle. After a little searching the Spartan picked out an unassuming young man approaching Kagari, not threatening or keen and the unwinged was allowing his advance. They appeared to be talking.

Then the other Ashikabi was hoisted into the air by a number of thick vines.

 _What?_

Sure enough, at the other end of the unexpected greenery was a child with a small pot in her hands, giggling as the man squirmed fruitlessly. She had long blond hair and a white dress.

 _Kusano! At last!_

"Found one in a nearby office." Yuuma said, landing beside her.

Orange caught her eye. Kagari burst into flame again.

Zeilla snatched the pressure-can off him and leapt over the edge.

Yuuma blinked, frozen with surprise as Ikki gaped at their Ashikabi's reckless move.

The Spartan landed heavily on three limbs next to the unassuming Ashikabi, hood flapping off her head in the wind swirling around from the intense heat. She crushed through the safety pins as she stood and launched a stream of white flame retardant at the Sekirei's feet.

"Hold your breath, Kagari!" she yelled over the roaring flames, then stood and edged closer while waving the cone up and down his form steadily.

"Who are... Zeilla! What are you-"

"Trying to save your life, idiot! You can't afford to break down now! Of all Sekirei I know you and Matsu are my greatest allies in the war on MBI!"

Kagari's face appeared as he staggered into the flow of retardant. He looked at her, then at the other Ashikabi whose head was snapping between them rapidly in confusion.

"Sahashi, you don't really want to kiss me, do you?" the fire Sekirei gritted out as he tried to bathe himself in the white cloud. "We're both male!"

The Ashikabi looked struck with fear. "I-it-it's not that!" he cried. "I just want to help! Mom said you would stabilize if I, er..."

"Good, I don't want to kiss you either!" Kagari declared triumphantly.

Then the fire extinguisher sputtered out mere dregs.

The fire swelled into a whole new strength, suddenly and completely over powering the fire retardant and engulfing both Ashikabi. Zeilla cursed internally and was about to call out to #9 for water when Kagari acted.

The silver haired alien staggered forward and gave the unassuming young man a strong push to expel him from the inferno, then grabbed Zeilla by her shoulders.

"I hope this damn well works!" he shouted over the roar, then pulled her down to his level.

Zeilla had just enough experience now to open her mouth for him before their lips met. Kagari hurriedly stuck his tongue past her teeth and scooped out as much saliva as he could with urgent desperation, fingers painfully digging into the Spartan's shoulders. Kagari's tongue ran all over every surface inside her mouth for several seconds, increasingly frantic as the flames intensified. Zeilla pulled the Sekirei's body against her own and tried to smother the flames, then it happened.

Kagari sucked her tongue into his mouth, then tensed up. Zeilla watched as his brows raised higher and the fire turned red. The red flames died down very quickly and left the charred pair alone on a blackened patch of roof.

The Sekirei broke from the kiss and gasped. Large wings of fire exploded from between his shoulders, rippling and waving in defiance of physics.

Kagari stepped out of their embrace to examine himself. Most of his clothing was crumbling ash but a few sections of a once thick coat remained intact enough to protect his modesty. He pulled what was left tighter about himself and sighed.

"Still there for now." he uttered quietly. He sighed again, then started to laugh.

Yuuma and Ikki landed next to them and stared at the silver haired man in confusion. He began to laugh louder and threw his fists into the air as he turned to face the MBI tower.

"Did you see that, Minaka?" he cried at the top of his voice. "Fuck you, Minaka! Fuck! You!"

The Sekirei guardian sent twin puffs of flame into the sky as if to project the insult across the city before collapsing backwards and laughing to himself.

"Homura... Is... Crying and laughing." Ikki said uncertainly.

The unassuming Ashikabi came over looking even more confused than he had before. "Umm... Kagari-san... Are you alright?"

Kagari rolled over on to his knees and paused to still his breathing before responding, eventually getting to his feet as a chuckle escaped him.

"I'm fine, Sahashi." he panted. "I'm fucking fantastic!"

One of the Sekirei stormed over and pointed at Kagari. "Homura! What are thy saying? Such language is-"

"She's a woman, Tsukiumi!" Kagari interrupted, pointing at Zeilla - who was too busy analysing her surroundings to think about what was happening. "I was finally winged, but by a woman! My Ashikabi is a woman!" he declared over and over, bubbling with tears and laughter of relief.

The Spartan had a revelation of her own to understand. She could actually feel his overflowing joy. Searching deeper Zeilla found Yashima's worried outrage, Ikki's happiness for the one who protected them earlier in the game and Yuuma's slight amusement at the whole spectacle... And a little bit of pride buried within Number Fifty. Then another revelation hit her.

Sahashi.

She looked around and spotted Kusano making her way over with the other Sekirei. Eyeing each in turn revealed the excited and busty brunette Zeilla remembered from the MBI resort baths standing over a body. The brunette who regarded Yukari as a close friend from what she had seen. The Sekirei had a strong frame too.

 _I don't believe it... Yukari's brother is an Ashikabi and has winged Kusano. After all that searching... Arg! If only we had met him as arranged that day!_

"You!"

Zeilla realised somebody very hotheaded was barreling down on her and she immediately filed away her internal musings. The well-endowed blond woman who had arrived on the scene just after the Ashikabi thrust her finger out accusingly.

"What mettle art thee made of?" the blond demanded of her.

The Spartan blinked. "What?"

"Thou art Ashikabi to my rival. I would know what kind of person dares claim Homura from my own Ashikabi!"

Minato winced at the mention.

"It's alright, Tsukiumi." Kagari assured. "Zeilla is perfect for me."

Ikki and another busty woman in a purple dress began cooing.

"Minato was supposed to wing you." the blond responded angrily with a fist raised to her shoulder. "You were reacting to him! I gave permission for it to be!"

"Oh flasher-chan, could it be possible you wanted to see Minato-kun take Kagari-chan, eh?" pink dress asked mischievously a sing song kind of way.

"No!" The blond gasped, appalled. She quickly began to seethe inside and grit her teeth, scowling at Zeilla. "But to think that my rival could be eliminated without my knowing it... And that my Ashikabi was denied something I allowed - no matter how uninteresting..."

The Spartan clapped her hands to draw all their attention. "First off, some of us aren't introduced to everyone present. Secondly, some have just been in a fight and could have injuries to tend - such as Kagari and Minato, who have burns."

Everyone looked at the two she singled out to find Minato was doing his best to hide his pain while Kagari was too tired to bother. The latter kept his arms crossed peculiarly though.

"Therefore, I propose we all go home. I for one have no desire to fight you people."

"Is Kagari-chan alright now, bro-chan?" #108 asked.

"Yes, Ku-chan." Minato replied with a kind smile. "He found his Ashikabi now too."

Kusano smiled widely and ran over to give Kagari a hug. Too tired to fight her off the male Sekirei was doomed to endure it.

Minato laughed nervously, then looked around. "Wait, where is Musubi-chan?"

Everybody turned. Musubi still stood over the body Zeilla had spotted earlier. The brunette looked up into the sky and soon a helicopter could be heard.

"Let's go, Minato-san." Musubi agreed cheerfully.

Musubi took her Ashikabi in her arms - giving no thought to the embarrassment this caused him - then without waiting for anyone she leapt northward. The Sekirei in the short purple dress picked Kusano up and took off after her, quickly followed by Tsukiumi.

Kagari sighed and smiled at Zeilla. "If I had known it was possible I might have snogged your face off back at the resort." he snickered. "I have agonised over this dilemma for so long... And now it's over. I have my wings."

The Spartan blinked. "There is one thing I don't understand."

"What is it?" he asked, clearly curious.

"Why the hell do Sekirei feel the need to suffocate me?"

Kagari cocked his head to one side, but Ikki burst out laughing and Yuuma even cracked a grin.

"Homura-san, Z-san has now got five Sekirei: Eighty-Four, Fifty, One Hundred and Two, me and yourself. In all five cases the Sekirei initiated the contact." Ikki informed him. "It's like she never sees it coming, I swear."

Zeilla snorted. "I'm a Spartan, not a social butterfly. Of course, I don't expect to be kissed - let alone by aliens."

Kagari shook his head and chuckled. "Well, like it or not you are my Ashikabi. Now and for many years to come."

Zeilla nodded outwardly. Inwardly however, she was wondering what was the point of saying that line with a bond in place that almost ensured it to be so.

"They are getting ahead of us." she reminded her three present Sekirei. "Let's get going."

Kagari fainted and fell flat on his face.

Zeilla blinked and sighed. "Ikki, pick him up, would you?"

#19 complied, slinging #6 across her shoulders. It was deceptive to look at her next to Yuuma: though he had the innate strength of the male frame, the female weapon user was the stronger.

"Right, now we can go."

 _And hope for something at Izumo good at treating burns._ She added to herself.


	11. Chapter X

Chapter X

* * *

Arriving at Izumo Inn this time left Zeilla feeling uneasy. Ikki tried to impress upon her that it was the safest place in the city but all the Spartan could see was wood and nails. Material she could easily destroy by accident and certainly unable to withstand a Sekirei.

 _Yet with six Sekirei residents perhaps no competitors were game to attack it?_ That conflicted with her understanding of the competition however, for Matsu had told her how many Sekirei had been winged by the strongest three Ashikabi. If the east or south or even the west wanted to, they could use numbers to overrun Izumo's Sekirei.

Then there was the landlady. Polite, cheerful... Surrounded by an oppressive aura.

Miya welcomed Zeilla and her Sekirei as she did Minato and his without care for who or what, but something gave Zeilla the impression the woman did not like her. For an hour, there was a buzz of activity as Kagari's and Minato's burns were tended to and dinner was served for those who were conscious. Then things became quiet as everyone went to bed upon Miya's suggestion. The violette opened two empty rooms for the three guests.

Zeilla found Matsu during dinner and managed to draw out some general information, if you could call it that. Izumo Inn was known to be under the protection of a terrifying demon and Miya permitted no violence at all within her borders. The mere mention of taking action was enough to scare residents into compliance, and so far, nobody had chosen to rent a room besides Minato due to that very scary demon.

To the Spartan that was a load of bull shit. Still, it could be advantageous bull shit if it kept this oasis safe from the likes of MBI and the opportunist – Sekirei, Ashikabi or otherwise.

Zeilla's war adjusted paranoia kept her up especially late to the point that she gave up trying to sleep. Dwelling within those thin wooden walls was just too unsafe for her so she untangled herself from Ikki and took up a vigil on the roof. Kagari found her standing where she could see the most of the street at some time around three in the morning.

"Miya said you were up here." he said by way of a greeting. "Hanging out on the roof is usually a Sekirei thing to do." he added with a light smile.

Zeilla shrugged. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, but weren't you right in the thick of it with me? Miya said you weren't hurt."

"I'm a Spartan. I don't stop for even plasma burns."

The male Sekirei shook his head. "You must be tough indeed. How did that cloak survive?"

"My clothes I soaked in fire-retardant not long after I got them – just in case I encountered heat-based weapons - leaving them only a little crispy after your inferno. It even smells much better now." she deadpanned, scowling at the red hair slowly growing across her vision before brushing it aside. "And I'm feeling like you are working up to something."

He started, then crossed his arms and looked away. "We need to talk about something... delicate." he ventured hesitantly. "Can we take this to the back yard?"

Zeilla nodded and they began to traverse the roof as silently as they could. As she walked behind him she noticed how feminine his figure appeared with only trousers and a thin white shirt. It wasn't something anyone would notice with his suit jacket or that coat he had on before it got reduced to ash. Also, a being's figure is the last thing on your mind when there is fire enveloping them.

Zeilla and Kagari both chose to land as far from the building as possible in the back yard. Surprising to them both too.

"Zeilla... I already told you how my power was unstable. There is more to my condition than that." the Sekirei began, turning a little to one side. "What do you see when you look at me?"

Zeilla narrowed her eyes and searched his eyes for clues. "An alien life form with an uncanny physical similarity to Humans who can command fire with mere thoughts. Is there something I should see?"

Kagari looked down. "Look harder. What... Do you see?"

The Spartan frowned. "A man with a feminine figure who once claimed to be a paid companion?"

"No... Look at my... Body."

"I've learned what you Sekirei are like by now. Hate to break it to you but I'm not into that sort of thing." she deadpanned.

Kagari reddened a bit then cursed and started undoing the buttons on his shirt, revealing the bandages wrapped around the most severe burns. "Look closer." he hissed, annoyed.

Zeilla blinked. "You put too many layers on your torso."

Kagari suddenly grabbed her hand and put it on his chest rather pointedly. "I've got boobs! Are you blind?"

"So, you are really female-"

"I'm not!" he snapped. "That's the whole problem! My gender is unstable and changes to suit my Ashikabi. The whole time I was reacting to Sahashi I kept becoming more and more what he likes without him even realising what his preferences were doing to me - so now I've got boobs. Got it?"

Zeilla blinked twice. "So, you are a male with mammary glands. Is this a Sekirei thing?"

"It's not- maybe- I don't know! Only number one knows anything about our species history and MBI edited us so much anyway- hell, who even knows how 'this' came to be." he rambled angrily, then cycled a few calming breaths and removed her hand to rebutton his shirt. "What do you think of me now, knowing how broken I am?"

"Not broken, just messed up. Besides needing some genetic tweaking, I'm not sure what you need from me." she sighed.

Kagari cycled another breath. "With conscious thought, you can change my body however you wish. At the moment, I suppose I'm stuck somewhere between genders. What I've been try to get you to say is... Which do you think of me as? That will ultimately determine if I return to being male... Or become... female."

 _Oh... Why didn't he say so? All I'm getting is a strange vibe from him via the bond._

"Well, what am I to you?" he asked nervously.

"You were born male? That's what you are." she asserted. "It's not something you can change with willpower and clever engineering. The things that make you male are already ingrained in who you are and cannot be taken from you. If you changed then you would be a man living in a woman's body. You say I have the power to choose your gender? Then let Sekirei number Six be the man he wishes to be."

Kagari stared at her for a few seconds, prompting her to speak again.

"Have I convinced you?" she asked, curious as to his stunned silence.

He put a hand on his chest. "I don't know enough about how this works but... Surely a surge of power would do something." he said quietly.

Zeilla began to wonder what that meant, then had a kind of sinking feeling like from risking bullet wounds to toss a grenade, only for the targets to be cut down by another means and make the risk pointless. The trepidation flared up with worry from afar - Yashima picking up on her Ashikabi's feelings.

"Sorry, but I'm going to do it again." he said as her grabbed her shoulders.

Kagari pulled his Ashikabi down for a kiss but ended up raising himself as she resisted. It was too late though as he made contact quickly and this time his wings of flame erupted instantly. The Sekirei retreated as they faded and groaned before doubling over and dropping to his knees.

"I pulled some burned skin." he hissed.

Zeilla frowned. "You stood in a furnace for several long minutes - in which time a small house could have burnt down - and came out with only surface damage." she muttered, grabbing by him one arm near the shoulder and hauling him up with relative ease. "Get over it."

"Ouch! That hurts bad. Damn your fingers are strong..."

"Of course. I'm a Spartan."

Kagari grabbed his chest vigorously. "It didn't work. Damn it!"

"Kagari-tan, how dare you experiment with Z-tan without telling me!"

Zeilla and Kagari whirled about to find #2 fake-pouting just inside the Inn.

"Matsu, get your mind out of the gutter." the Spartan deadpanned.

"Or I'll have to fry you, again." Kagari added.

The redheaded Sekirei flinched a little. "You two are so mean. I'm sure other Sekirei and Ashikabi are having all kinds of fun."

"If so then they are foolish." Zeilla countered. "This isn't a game, it's an experiment to see which Sekirei and Ashikabi is the strongest pair of all hundred and eight."

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about." Matsu replied, pushing up her glasses. "In my room where it is completely safe from all but Miya." she added, departing for the stairs.

Kagari looked to Zeilla and she nodded. They quietly followed the busty pervert.

"Is it just me... Or are all Minato's Sekirei besides Kusano rather... over developed?" she whispered to Kagari.

The male blushed a little. "They are." he admitted.

"I think the pukes at MBI tweaked DNA for more than the outline of the game. Either that or Minato has a dirtier mind than Matsu."

"Please, can we not talk about that? It's disturbing."

Matsu cleared her throat and held her false door open, tapping her foot. "When you two are finished speculating about my Ashikabi's company."

 _Well what do you know, the gutter-mind has a serious mode._

Once they had settled on her bed Matsu brought up the MBI files on Minato and Zeilla, along with those of the Sekirei winged to each.

"While strength can differ from Sekirei to Sekirei there is something about the sequential order of our birth that gives Ashikabi certain levels of power as a baseline." Matsu began. Then she pointed to Minato's Sekirei. "See the numbers? Mina-tan may only have five Sekirei - no thanks to you - but he is still one of the most powerful Ashikabi. Despite the high numbers of Musubi-tan and Kusano-tan I managed to tip the balance which enabled him to reach Tsukiumi-tan and eventually Kazahana-tan and Homura-tan."

"Homura is my given name." Kagari chipped in. "I used the name Kagari around Minato and at work to maintain my cover as the Guardian."

Matsu turned from her keyboard and glared at Zeilla rather angrily for someone of her countenance. "Mina-tan has a capacity for love I have never seen in all my time spying on Humans. He even made me react before I made my move. That's when I began to forge my plan - a plan you have upset." she stated pointedly. "With another single number added to his flock Mina-tan would have been strong enough but then you had to show up when I least expected you to."

Zeilla didn't like where this was going.

"As such I am going to commandeer you and your own Sekirei to aid Mina-tan." she declared, with a dramatic key stroke, changing her displays to a list of the Ashikabi. "While you are not especially powerful you have five Sekirei. Combined with Mina-tan there is no question that you two outstrip all the other Ashikabi."

"I have my own plans to work, Matsu."

"And what exactly have you accomplished since you returned from helping Kuno?" Matsu challenged smugly. "Stumbled your way into kissing three more Sekirei and letting half of them get hospitalised by Karasuba. You really don't know what to do with your Sekirei at all so how can you follow any plan of your own? Face it, Spartan: you are a soldier with certain skills best applied under the guiding influence of a strategist. You need me, I need your skills and combat experience."

"I had a few pieces coming together until Karasuba turned up and temporarily removed Yashima as an asset." Zeilla scowled. "I was working on training her while we wandered the city. I bet you'd be impressed with what I can do now that I've seen what Ruso and Ikki are capable of."

#2 sighed and shook her head. "You have done a great job at that - I know because I have been keeping tabs on you and learned a good deal too. That would all go to waste if you charged off without information only I possess or can acquire."

"Cyber-warfare is not the be all and end all-"

"Zeilla, Matsu's idea is the best." Kagari interrupted. "While we may be following her orders, we will be working together with Sahashi's Sekirei who are some of the most powerful on their own. Zero-Three, Zero-Nine, Eighty-Eight and even Kusano. It's the perfect opportunity to grow our forces by both numerical and skill strength."

Zeilla raised her brow in surprise.

Matsu let out a short giggle and a trail of drool. "This must be a side effect of Zeilla's training and experience bleeding through the bond to give her Sekirei greater battle awareness. Perhaps it works both ways? One day Mina-tan might be the one to start the experiments…"

The Spartan brought a hand to her chin in thought. "I haven't seen such thinking from Yashima without my prompting, let alone any other. Do you have a mind for tactics, Kagari?"

"Not really." he replied. "It just seemed like the best plan."

"And you are correct." Zeilla added.

Matsu snickered. "I knew it. You are the perfect minion- er, leader for the war against Minaka and MBI. Together we can defeat that madman and free all Sekirei from his stupid plans!"

The Spartan sighed internally. "I take it you have a plan of your own ready, then?"

"Of course, I have a plan." #2 scoffed. "Who do you think I am? At the moment, I'm still gathering information. Attacking MBI is not something you can do on a whim and expect to survive - they have a large private army and three powerful Sekirei backed by the best technology in the world, after all."

Zellia frowned. "What's the gist of it, then?"

"Ah, no, not yet, Z-tan. If you want to know in advance then we will have a trade like before." the redhead snickered, a sinister smirk on her face. "You never told me about that theory."

Zeilla huffed and crossed her arms. "Let me start with a question: how does Yashima's Norito work?"

Matsu spun back to her keyboard and tapped away at a rate of knots until a window popped up on her monitor, displaying a grainy image of #84 sending soldiers and tanks flying with her hammer's shockwave. Zeilla's cloaked form was just visible at the top of the frame.

"As you have seen first-hand she uses her hammer to create a large shockwave." the female Sekirei said.

"Mechanics, Matsu. I want to know how it works."

Matsu stayed silent for several long seconds, then adjusted her glasses. "Actually... Minaka doesn't care how our powers work. MBI has no specific information like that on any one Sekirei's power."

The former ONI operative stared at her. "You expect me to believe that a mad scientist in possession of one hundred and eight alien life-forms that have impossible abilities... Has not attempted to learn how said abilities function?"

Matsu nodded sheepishly.

"Minaka seeks entertainment, really." Kagari added. "I suppose that knowing too much makes things less fun."

"Absurd. Absolutely absurd." she muttered. "Okay, let's try a different approach. Kagari, what can you do besides creating infernos around you or... I suppose you throw fireballs?"

The male Sekirei let his head fall to one side. "I've never really thought about it much. I've used fire and smoke screens to escape battle with winged Sekirei before."

"A good start." Zeilla said, shifting to rest her chin on one knee. "Now get creative. Try things - anything - to see what you could do to give you an edge. Think about the heat and the psychological impact of commanding fire. Think about the basic necessities of fighting."

He furrowed his brow and folded his arms. "I could make walls around myself and- or my opponent. Even though they can pass through quickly without too much trouble the heat and sight might make them hesitate. The flames could disguise me preparing to attack, perhaps?"

"Interesting." Matsu chuckled and leaned closer.

Zeilla flicked the pervert on the forehead. "You Sekirei lack imagination - probably because you were raised knowing you were limited and bound by the rules of the game. Just as I saw with Ninety-Five Kuno, investing time into toying with powers can reveal new techniques."

"I see." Kagari said, nodding. "If we do something our previous opponents are not expecting we can have the upper hand in an instant."

The Spartan gently punched him in the arm, grinning slightly. "That's the idea."

* * *

Sometime after sunrise Spartan B-312 awoke and her mood instantly soured. Ikki had been sprawled across the bedding when she returned and so Zeilla had propped herself up in a corner. At some point the Sekirei had crawled over and snuggled her way into her Ashikabi's lap, folding both of their arms around her.

 _Once Yashima is released from hospital... Crap, almost forgot Ruso... Bloody hell._

Zeilla gently set Ikki back in the bedding and checked the few weapons on her person, then eased the door open. As she peeked out into the hall the violet haired land lady rounded the corner at the top of the stairs

"Good morning." Miya greeted with a pleasant smile.

Zeilla almost saluted but managed to turn it into a short wave while approaching so they could speak without waking the others. "Thank you for your hospitality, ma'am. If there is anything I or my companions can do to assist you then please let us know."

Miya's smile became one of amusement. "I believe you may soon have your hands full. Five Sekirei can be quite exhausting to care for."

"Training should tire them out, I hope." she shrugged. "That said, I have no idea if I can handle any personality clashes."

The land lady laughed quietly. "Observe the interaction during breakfast." she suggested with a wise glint in her eye. "Please wake everyone on this floor and tell them breakfast is minutes away."

Zeilla nodded and watched the violette descend the stairs. It was strange. The woman seemed far less suspicious of her now for some reason. She shrugged it off as a good thing and returned to wake Ikki up and reclaim her cloak. Pushing the hood back Zeilla then went from door to door in search of the other Sekirei and one Ashikabi.

After checking every room save two she had only found one Sekirei she had never seen before who had seemed far too tired to keep her eyes open. Zeilla frowned and approached the last legitimate room, wondering if the task was a joke.

She opened the door, then blinked and frowned. Before her lay the Ashikabi with a well-endowed Sekirei on each limb. Kusano was sprawled contently over the top with the entire blanket to herself as well as a fist full of Minato's shirt. While she took in the spectacle the young man struggled to sit up, but when he saw her large frame and frown looming over him Minato was struck with terror.

The Spartan then noticed a certain Sekirei was a little too active to be sleeping.

Zeilla stooped and sized Matsu's skull in one hand, then raised the Sekirei off the floor. As a result, Minato got his leg pulled hard and he squawked, causing Kusano groan and Tskuimi to sit up like a spring.

"Ouch-ouch-ouch-ouch-ouch- that hurts, Z-tan!" Matsu whined, grabbing the Spartan's wrist in futility.

Zeilla dropped her unceremoniously. "Hey Minato, does this 'gathering' occur often?"

The shaken Human nodded hesitantly.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Shit. I don't need to have that happen to me every morning."

"Well, at least it wasn't Miya." Tskuimi muttered.

"Agreed." Matsu gritted out, massaging her skull.

Zeilla clapped her hands loudly to wake the other two females. "It's breakfast now or never, people. Get moving."

At the sound of the word 'breakfast' Musubi snapped out of her contented slumber and leapt to her feet and a somewhat incoherent woman wearing almost nothing rose up on an elbow. The five Sekirei shared a glance for just a fraction of a second before scrambling out the door and down the stairs, one dashing back up to retrieve a garment from another room before whipping past at an unnatural speed.

Minato picked himself up off the floor and laughed hesitantly.

Zeilla sighed. "I hope I don't have to put up with that once my bunch are all together. They're wanton and possessive, aren't they? With their powers and strength that can be dangerous."

The male Ashikabi's face fell. "Yes. But... The landlady takes good care of us all, Human or Sekirei."

"You are lucky." Zeilla said. "I suppose your Sekirei are also lucky to have you. If you can be strong and lead them when they need a guiding hand, they will be more focused. Matsu has explained to me many things about this game."

The Spartan carefully placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and ducked her head closer to his level, causing him to look up as she spoke.

"You love your Sekirei. Love them more and more. Hold them close, deep in your heart. Share things with them - talk about things together and grow even closer." she told him softly. "Learn about them and understand them. Determine how to take charge of a situation by using your understanding of who they are. Even a young Human with so much he does not know can become strong this way - a good Ashikabi. They are capable of almost anything and willing to do it all for you, so all you need to do is ask."

As she straightened up she had a thought. Zeilla decided to act on it.

"Why don't you ask Miya to teach you how to control your Sekirei? I'm sure she will if she agrees to their sparring requests."

Minato looked up at her with surprise. "The landlady?"

"She already controls them for you. I don't see how asking for her help in this could possibly be a bother. If anything, it would take a load off her shoulders."

The boy nodded. "Okay, I'll ask her after breakfast. Breakfast! Hurry, we will be late!"

The two Ashikabi quickly followed the sounds of Sekirei arguing and seated themselves at the table. Just in time too, for Miya, Musubi and a now 'dressed' raven haired alien brought out the many dishes and set the table.

Minato was almost instantly absorbed into his Sekirei as they argued of who would sit next to him. Zeilla watched him for a moment as he tried to settle the possessive females, then found Ikki pulling on her arm to a pair of cushions beside the sleepy woman. Said woman's figure told the Spartan she was a Sekirei. She had learned that much by now, seeing the Izumo gang sharing the same figure - save for Kusano.

"Good morning." she greeted the unfamiliar alien as Ikki sat her down.

The brunette blinked, then smiled. "Good morning. Are you a new tenant? My name is Uzume."

"Zeilla. This is Nineteen, Ikki. We just met Minato and company last night after the winging of number Six."

Said male Sekirei entered the room quietly but failed to escape notice.

"Kagari! You're just in time for breakfast. Feeling better?" Uzume asked cheerfully.

He came over and sat at Zeilla's side. "Yes, much better. I'm starving too."

The female Sekirei blinked several times as Ikki gave Kagari a suspicious sidelong glare and pulled Zeilla's arm closer, causing the Spartan to frown and retrieve the limb.

"Wait... Kagari... You?"

He exhaled gently and smiled. "I'm a Sekirei, and last night I found my Ashikabi. I'm no longer crippled by a defective body. Number Six is ready to take on MBI itself." he declared.

The food drew their attention as it was set before them.

"After breakfast." he concluded with a gulp.

Zeilla didn't miss the mixed emotions churning about in Uzume's eyes as the assembled beings began to eat at Miya's command.


End file.
